


Hyper of Colour: Book #1

by alifetime



Series: The First Crusade - The Wizarding World [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Hybrid Effect - alifetime
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Cody is a little shit, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Hybithia: School of Hybrids, Hybrids, Other, Sorah with no wings, The Lost Elements (of Nature), but i am getting there, fanfic for a book that has not been fully developed yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-05-24 03:10:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 98,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alifetime/pseuds/alifetime
Summary: Nature deems it perfect to start off with The Tri(Qaud)wizard Tournament for their first ever beings towards an alternative universe, in search for the first Lost Element. But she does love to toy with the billions of universes she picks apart, so being to bring Hybrids into the Wizarding World. Though Sorah (nor the others) have no knowledge of their whereabouts, a distant instinct is telling them they need to find the right friends to trust and seek help with.Started: 15.11.2016Finished: 30.09.2017Edited: 10.11.2018[ Many of these points-especially in the Harry Potter World-are not canon whatsoever ][ This is a fanfiction I have written for my friends ][ All Harry Potter characters, places, etc, belong to J.K. Rowling ]





	1. ❀Prologue❀

Sorah had come to the acceptance that her life was maybe completely normal for someone like her. 

A girl that had a big heart and a weak spark for animals, Declan liked to think of her as a rarity. A once in a lifetime kind-of-girl. Only small and skinny; freckles littering her pale face, and short curly hair covering her tiny, fluffy ears when he first took in the sight of her.

Declan was quite pleased to be knowing that he had two children to look after. Even more happy to find one was a Hybrid. He himself was a wizard who worked at the Ministry of Journalism. It was a tough job but the least is that he enjoyed it. Now he could write about Hybrids. A subject he had always found interesting in Hogwarts as a boy. 

Sorah had come to Declan's front door as a small, scrawny little girl. Along with her slightly taller brother, Hunter. Both held each-others hands, the rain beating down on their dirty, ragged clothes. With them stood Mrs. Lovejoy, a soft yet pained smile on her heavily lined face. Declan assured them three inside the warmth of the cottage he lived in. 

Declan offered Mrs. Lovejoy a tea and she gladly accepted. Hunter and Sorah still had yet to say or do anything other than look down at their feet. Then a woman, with a stern looking face and icy-blue eyes came in. She held a smile when she set sight on Mrs. Lovejoy and the two, frightened little children.

"This is—?" she started and Declan nodded with a smile, starting the kettle.

Sorah and Hunter still did nothing of the sort. Hunter seemed to clutch to his little sisters' hand more tightly.

Declan knew they'd come around. And eventually they did.

Rebecca, or better known as Becca, poised them to bed with gentle gestures and soothing words. She had them bathe and both were nice, clean and fresh when they came out. Declan and Becca were delighted to see a tail from Sorah's tail bone and big, fluffy ears just behind her fringe point on her head.

Hunter hugged his sister when he thought the two adults were staring at his sister for too long.

Declan was the one to put them to bed.

He held out two hands. 

"Pick a hand," he had said.

Sorah was the first to react.

With a small hand, she reached over and tapped on Declan's right hand. When he opened it, nothing was there and Sorah flushed, embarrassed and shrunk back. Then Declan opened his left hand which revealed two sugar-cubes. He placed the two in front of them with a mischievous smile. 

Both ate them slowly, happily. 

Seeing as the baby she-Hybrid was the first to react, her defence mechanisms and confidence will be a few percentages higher than her brothers.

He was right, in some way.

The next day was the day Declan told the two little children about him being a wizard, but Becca being a Muggle. 

A Muggle is what you call a none-magic folk. A bit what Hunter and Sorah considered themselves to be because they have no form of magic ability. They were quite wrong; for Declan had said Sorah's Hybrility contained a mass amount of magic, performing from her mind or/and hands. She was to attend a school at eleven years of age called Hybithia.

Hunter, however, was not a Hybrid. That didn't stop Declan and Becca to believe any different. Declan saw some peculiar things Hunter could do that not a Muggle would be able to achieve. It made Hunter incredibly happy to think he could, after all, be a wizard. 

Sorah showed various signs of magic ability, and by the age she was eight, she was able to perform the ability to levitate and communicate through other people's minds.

Hunter started talking before Sorah did. At the very least. He started saying his _'pleases'_ and _'thank you's'_ but in a different accent to Declan and Becca. Then they found from Mrs. Lovejoy, who came to visit every so often, that they were new to England. The children were German. Their father was German, and mother English. An English twinge is what they heard in Hunter's accent, but because they spent most of their youth in Germany, it was a stronger German accent.

Sorah started speaking when Hunter said more than his _'pleases'_ and _'thank you's'_. Very much like Hunter, her voice was soft-spoken, quiet and both had quite the gap-y teeth and lisp. Although Hunter was trying to train himself out of his lisp and stutter, Sorah isn't bothering. She said she doesn't care the way she speaks. Hunter only practised mainly because a stutter and lisp came out as a jumble of puzzled words. This can be very difficult to process.

Declan assigned Sorah to learn sign language because she hardly ever spoke at all. She would use it, if only a bit. 

Becca can't help but always coo when they can't pronounce an English word or when Hunter stutters on his lisp.  

Becca's parents adore Hunter and Sorah with a passion; just like any other grandparents had. They would bring round sweeties and little presents all the time for the two children.

On order by Mrs. Lovejoy, they were forbidden to change their last names, because before the father of the two children were taken away, he made Mrs. Lovejoy promise not to remove his name. 

He'd be back for them, with their mother. And the children believed him, because their Papa never lied.

On September 13th, 1990, Hunter received the letter from Hogwarts.

The first letter Hunter had ever gotten, and Declan's parents came round to celebrate. They were all ever-so-happy. By this time, Hunter and Sorah could finally read, write and any other sort of equation you would expect an eleven-year-old and ten-year-old to do.  It took a lot of persuading and eventually, Sorah started to join in on Becca's attempts to get Hunter to start learning. It wasn't that the brother of the two was uninterested. No—he was just wishing their Papa and Mama were there to be with them.

 

It was a rather cold and rainy day. The clouds grey and heavy—any source of light and the trees around their home were swaying in sync with the wind.

All were eating breakfast and heard a little knock at the door. Sorah got up to get the post, but when she got there, no post was there. Then she figured someone must be on the outside. To her confusion, when she opened the door, a big, tawny-coloured owl stood at the doorstep, a letter in its yellow beak.

She gently took it with her hands and with a little hoot, it flew away, large wings blowing the bitter air around Sorah. She shut the door and flipped over the letter to see the address.

 

_**Mr.  H. Stylan** _

_**Twilight Crest Forest** _

_**Fairport Home** _

_**Further Wales** _

 

Sorah curiously turned it over again and saw a red-painted stamp mark where it sealed the letter. The red-painted mark symbolised four creatures. A lion, serpent, honey-badger and an eagle. 

 _This must be Hunter's Hogwarts letter!_ thought Sorah, excitedly. 

"Hunter! Hunter!" she had babbled, skipping to the dining room. Hunter looked up from his cereal and wiped his mouth. "I sink yours let'er 'az come through!" 

Declan put down the Daily Prophet and Becca stopped cleaning the dishes. Sorah gave the letter to Hunter and he immediately started reading the front. Beaming, he carefully unwrapped the letter and pulled out an A4 sheet of paper with marked quill ink on it.

"Well?" encouraged Becca, pulling a chair and sitting next to the boy. "What does it say?" 

Declan and Sorah also crowded around Hunter.

Hunter sucked in a breath through his nose before speaking, "Dear Mister S-Stylan," he stuttered, still not being able to pronounce the 'S' correctly. "Ve are p-pleased to inform y-yous z-zz-zat you have a place at H-Hogwarts Sschool of Witchcraft and Wissardry. Please f-ff-findz enclos-sed list of all zee nes - necessary" —he looked at Declan and he nodded, grinning brightly at Hunter's effort— "b-books andz e-equit—" he stopped and pointed the word out to Declan. 

"Ah," nodded Declan, running his index finger along the word, " _equipment._ "

Hunter giggled, and continued, "T-term begins on 1st of September. Ve awaitz yours owlz by no l-later zan 31st of July! Yours sinc" —he dragged the 'C' letter more longer than normal. Declan leaned over and finished with: "Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress."

Hunter put the letter down and looked so incredibly happy that his dimples were pinched so far into his cheeks. "I am g-g-going to Hogwartss!" 

Sorah hugged her brother around the neck, kissing his cheek and giggling happily. 

The very next day, Hunter insisted on going to Diagon Ally and collecting his new school things. Declan managed to save time off work, explaining to his co-workers that his son wants to get ready for Hogwarts. They completely understood, with big smiles and promised to have a lot of work for him when he got back. He only chuckled at their amused manners and left without any other word.

"Will I be okay?" mumbled Sorah the next morning, reaching up to fiddle at her growing, Hybrid-ears. 

Declan bent down and soothed her cheeks with his thumb, then smiling and zipping up her little jacket she had on. "The Wizarding community are all very familiar with Hybrids, my sweet. No need to hide your Hybrility."

Sorah seemed unsure at first. But with a lot of encouragement from Declan and Hunter (even Becca, though she was not going) she eventually was standing in front of the fireplace in the living room.

"Right, you two," announced Declan, clapping his two hands together. "Now you're gonna learn, and you're gonna learn early. Where's Becca with the—ah! —there you are!"

Hunter and Sorah turned to see Becca holding a small cup of some strange looking powder. When handed to Declan, he bent down on one knee to show the two Stylan children. In the small cup was a fair amount of greenish-greyish powder. 

"This is Floo Powder," explained Declan. "Now, I want Hunter, come here" —he beckoned Hunter to stand in the fireplace and the boy obeyed, a little nervous look on his face. "Now, take a handful of powder—yes, that's it." Hunter was looking else where but anyone's eyes. "Now, what I want you to do is drop the powder and then say, 'Di-a-gon Al-ley', very loudly and clearly ... well, as loud as you can." His eyes wandered to Becca's, a crease in his eyebrows. He was worried about the process failing. "Are you ready?" said Declan, nodding. Hunter nodded as well. "On you go."

Hunter gulped and then dropped the powder, which flew back up but he said it as loud as he could, and very clearly, _"Diagon Alley!"_ and a bunch of green flames arose, and then, he was gone. 

Declan went next, wanting to be there once Sorah went. Sorah did it with a little wave to Becca. She then all of a sudden found herself covered in soot, head to toe. Her Hybrid-ears had dust particles inside of them too. She was pulled up by the hand and there stood Declan and Hunter, smiling, also covered in dirt and dust. They were in a nice looking cosy shop. It was mostly red by the looks of it and the person at the counter smiled at them.

"Thank you, Livia," waved Declan to the person behind the counter and off the three of them went.

It was nothing like Sorah had ever seen before. Diagon Alley had all sorts of amazing things and colourful stuff. The one that caught her attention was the owls and other fantastic creatures on the outside of a shop in cages. Her eyes came in contact with ones with yellow, amber eyes, fluffy white with black dots on the feathers. It was a beautiful Snow Owl.

"Come on, Sorah!" called Declan and the small Hybrid went on her way.

In shops, people kept stopping to chat with Declan. He seemed quite popular and the people who spoke to him spoke to him as a great friend. Some introduced themselves to Hunter and Sorah, paying extra care towards Sorah's Hybrility. 

The only thing people seemed to question upon the approach of the two kids was that Hunter is shown without any signs of Hybrility. Sorah has never questioned this herself, rather because she was so used to being a Hybrid herself it didn't matter to her in the slightest. 

They were confused as to why she never spoke back. And it wasn't as if she was being rude—she was smiling, but her shyness had always over-powered her. 

In the robe shop, she was drawing on some paper with a quill the lady (who was fitting Hunter's robes) gave her and she got a little tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she was come by two boys, who looked exactly the same with red hair and mischievous blue eyes.

"I like your ears," said one.

"You must be a Hybrid," said the other. "My friend Lee's distant relative is a Hybrid!"

"Fred, George, I hope you're not bothering that poor girl."

The two boys turned and Sorah was met with another red head, though this woman was plump and quite small but with a kind face. 

"Of course not, mum."

The lady smiled and started looking through robes desperately.

Sorah only carried on with her little drawing, on her tip toes (since she can't really keep herself up on the counter) and when she was nearly done, Hunter had come out, a smile still on his childish features. When she looked around, the lady and two similar looking boys were gone. She hadn't noticed. 

"Come on you two," gestured Declan, all going out the shop. "Now, we gotta get you a wand, Hunter." 

"A wand!" synced Sorah and Hunter, both giggling and running along side Declan, who, with many instruments hanging off his arms, had to keep the same pace as them.

For the rest of the remaining day, they spent buying and relaxing in all different kinds of shops. Hunter didn't seem all too keen on getting a broom, even though Declan said he wasn't allowed one in first year. Either way, he said he would probably never be getting one. The idea of flying made him feel queasy.

The three of them settled down in a little café and Declan relaxed with some fire whisky, getting Sorah and Hunter some pumpkin juice. Sorah thought it was absolutely delicious as well as Hunter. They even asked for seconds. Declan also got them some pumpkin pasties which they kept exchanging. 

Later on in the week, Hunter had gotten all of his stuff for Hogwarts. He kept on wishing to himself that he could go right away. Unfortunately, he had until the next September. 

The very next year, Sorah had received a letter herself. 

Sorah had opened it, giving it to Declan to read.

"Dear Ms. Sorah-Bella Stylan," he read out loud and clear, "you are going to be starting at Hybithia—"

"Hybisia?" lisped Sorah, tilting her head. _"Was ist das?"_ — "What is that?"

Declan looked at his foster daughter and then back to the letter, reading further. "You will find the accessories and list of instruments within the letter your receive. We await your reply by no later than the 31st of July. Yours sincerely, Lillian Holden. Deputy Head."

Declan revealed the list of things for Sorah's school.

 

_**The Hybithian Dress Code:** _

 

_**White polo shirt: long-sleeved for winter. Short sleeved for summer.** _

_**Imperial purple blazer.** _

_**Imperial purple v-neck sweater vest.** _

_**Navy blue patterned pleated skirt.** _

_**A pair of black trousers.** _

_**Imperia purple knee high socks.** _

_**Black tights.** _

_**Black socks.** _

_**Any black shoe wear (apart from high-heels, don't be stupid!).** _

_**Normal tie—coordinated to what colour bracelet you get.** _

 

_**Hybithian Equipment:** _

 

_**Cauldron.** _

_**Quill and Ink.** _

_**A Hybrility Bracelet.** _

_**First teachings of the Dark Arts Book.** _

_**Potion Ingredients Book.** _

_**Secrets of Charms Book.** _

_**History of Hybrids Book.** _

_**Bracelet Colour Coronations Book.** _

 

Once they ran through the list, Declan gave the letter back to Sorah and they all sat down.

"I won't be goings to Hogwarts like _meine bruder_?" asked Sorah, a little disappointed.

"No," said Declan, shaking his head a bit. Then he smiled. "Don't worry, Sorah. I've heard Hybithia is a lovely school. It's where the Hybrids, like yourself, go. I'm friends with plenty of them. They are part of the Wizarding World, you know?"

Sorah cheered up. Maybe it wasn't too bad. It was the thought of spending so long without Hunter was what made the anxious feeling inside her chest grow. 

In the next couple of weeks, they managed to get a lot of Sorah's stuff together. For Hybithian Uniform, the Hybrids of the wizarding work made it extremely easy. You can get these simple uniforms in shops. So, they managed to get Sorah a few pairs of knee high socks and tights, polo-shirts and sweater's from shops in Swansea (Wales). And they also had gotten her some shoes—normal black laced shoes. For the blazers and skirts, they had to once again visit Diagon Alley as they were required to get blazers with the Hybithian logo and the skirts patterned you couldn't find anywhere but the proper Hybithian wear.

There was a shop for the Hybrids to visit. It was a rather large shop and quite popular as well. 

When they entered, Sorah and Hunter were awed by all different Hybrids and colours of the shop. Some adults recognised Declan and shook hands with him or patted him on the back. A lot of the small Hybrids were running around the shop. One had a book in hand and was chewing at the pages, blunts fangs seeping through. They were about five-years-old. Wherever the parents were, it wasn't Sorah's problem. She felt incredibly at ease by being surrounding by ones who share the same physicality as she did.

"Now, how may I help you today?" A kind looking lady, who Sorah noted was not a Hybrid, came up to them and smiled down at Sorah. "New, I presume?"

"Yup," nodded Declan, running his hands gently down Sorah fringe and up again to rub at her soft, felt ears. "Just starting."

"Follow—right this way," she gestured and the three of them followed on. They were taken to a more quieter place of the shop where all different sized imperial blazers were.

"Do we know what size she is?" asked the lady.

"'Fraid I don't," chuckled Declan. "It's the mother who does all the clothes shopping."

Sorah was carefully placed on a small stall and watched in curiosity as the lady pulled out a wand and a measuring tape, levitating on its own, starting to measure her.

"D-did yous go to Hogwarts?" lisped Hunter, watching the lady as she searched through the purple blazers.

"Indeed I did, young man," said she, smiling but not looking at him. "Are you off to Hogwarts?"

" _Ja_ ," replied Hunter with a silly, little dimpled grin on his face. 

"Right," said the lady, pulling out a small blazer, imperial purple with a logo on it. Imprinted on it was a large, capital _'H'_ surrounded by small angel wings. Sorah quite liked it. "I believe this is the right size. You're a small, little angel, aren't you?"

"Only 4'7, bless her," mused Declan as Sorah gave him a cheeky glare. 

"V-Vat does thetss make me?" asked Hunter, standing on his tippy-toes. The lady smiled and set him back on the heels of his feet, measuring.

"1.43 meters," said the lady.

"Huh?" said Hunter, clueless, head cocked to the side.

The lady gave a light-heated chuckle, putting away the measuring tape. "It means you're about 4'10."

The three left with Sorah's new fitted blazer and searched the rest around the shop. When they came across the bracelets, a young man, with short, tilted dog ears helped her out. He fitted it around her small wrist and told her, "The colour represents your personality. Just relax and breath."

And Sorah did, trying not to think of the man's gentle hands around her wrist. Both Declan and Hunter watched with amazement as the bracelet turned a glimmering shade of white before it soothed down, it being see through to show Sorah's tanned skin. A few sprinkles of sparkled whites dotted the circular object. 

 _'What does thet mean?'_   questioned Sorah, looking up at the man, who heard her loud and clear through his head. Declan raised an eyebrow through the little, muted conversation the man and his daughter had. This was something Hybrids learn at a young age—to talk to others through their heads and replying back again. Declan sure wished he learned Legilimency in Hogwarts.

"The colour white," started the man, "for a Hybrids symbolism to Innocence, Purity, Goodness and Kindness. Also, it sometimes means Spiritual." 

 _'What colour did you get, sir?'_ said Sorah, pointing to his wrist, ignoring the fact that her bracelet was glowing again. 

"Me?" said the man, getting down a white tie and tested it around Sorah gently. The tie at the end showed the logo of Hybithia at the end. "I got green." He pulled back his sleeve to reveal his bracelet. It was a nice, fresh see-through shade, a few splashes of soft darkness of grass. "This means the Safety of my Environment, Harmony and Fertility."

"What's ... _vertility_?" said Hunter when the man finished measuring around his sisters shoulders and neck. 

Declan payed some silver coins as the man spoke. "Fertility—it depends what kind of context you're using it in. First off, it can be 'the quality of being fertile', so to be productive. The other can be 'the happiness has an affect on ones family'." 

Declan placed the blazer and tie in the bag the man had given him and Hunter and Sorah nodded in understatement.

"Thank you," said Declan. "Kids, say goodbye."

"Thankss you!" said Hunter.

 _"Danke, auf wiedersehen!"_ — "Thank you, goodbye!" said Sorah and giggled when the man gave her a confused but almost impressed look.

"What else?" asked Declan.

Sorah fished about in her yellow raincoat pocket and pulled out the now ruffled up paper, and unfolding it. "Books!"

They set off to where all the books seemed to be. Sorah was awed by the amount of books. Even Hunter kept on taking out random by random, and reading a few paragraphs. 

"Whoa!" exclaimed Hunter after Sorah had found a Hypnosis book. Hunter came scrambling over, out of Declan's sight and sound, showing the book to his sister. "The power of Mind-Controlling." He started flicking through it. "Ss-supposing you l-learns sisss in anozer year!"  

Sorah giggled. _'I don't thinks they vould let us control minds, Hunter.'_ She pointed with her index finger to a few words she spotted. _'This es zee power to control magic in your mind.'_ Sorah looked up. _'But, nots actually controlling people's.'_

 _"Verdammt,"_ — "Damn," huffed Hunter, closing the book and putting it back in its original spot.

Sorah collected the last few books she needed and gratefully paid for them. Declan carried the all of the bags by using a shrinking spell to make all of them fit into one small bag. They then came across the maps of Hybithia. It was a terribly big school.

"Of course," nodded Declan, looking at the course of the map when Sorah desperately showed it to him. "There are only four Hybrid School's in the whole world." He turned over the read a list of rooms. "The one you'll be going to is in Ireland. A lot of North American's and English, North of Europe will be coming to Hybithia. If they are a Hybrid of right." Declan tapped the map and Sorah nodded, picking out a white diary with the words _First Years Hybithia Diary_. This one came with a quill. But Sorah picked out a lot of quills and spare ink for obvious reasons.

After all the paying and other stuff to get, Declan took the two of them to get some pumpkin juice again. And this time, for sweeties, he had gotten them Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Bean. Sorah made Hunter try a green one and ended up getting lime which wasn't so bad and Sorah had tried a green one, ending in her making faces and telling Hunter it tasted like grass. After a long but fun day of shopping, the three returned home to have a warm roast dinner waiting for them. Sorah took all the bags up to her room and told Declan she was going to sort it out after dinner.

It was the most exciting thing the upcoming September 1st. Sorah and Hunter were awake and ready to go in half an hour. Declan had to first drop off Sorah at Cardiff's Central Railway Station before floo-ing to Diagon Alley again and running to Kings Cross where the Hogwarts Express would be for Hunter.

Declan smiled as Sorah and Hunter embraced each-other as if they were never going to see one another again.

"You'll write?" said Sorah, letting go of her brother.

"Vell, o-of course!" said Hunter. "You v-vv-vill do vell."

"I vill," nodded Sorah.

Declan kissed her on the cheek and she happily climbed onto the train. She found a little window and poked her head out to see Declan and Hunter waving. She waved back with a big smile on her face, ready for this new experience on the Hybithian Comet. 

As soon as her brother and dad were out of sight, she tightened her little shoulder bag around herself and started searching through the compartments. She was lucky enough to get the third to end one by herself. 

For a while, she sat there, looking out the window until she heard someone rustling with the compartment door. Looking away from the window, she saw a girl with ginger hair, blue and pink tips at the end of her curls (as well as her little Hybrid-ears) and glasses, slide open the door. Her eyes were a light shade of blue with long, blonde eyelashes shading her freckled cheeks.

"Sorry," she said, a little shy smile on her face. "Is it okay if I sit here? No one else will let me in their compartments." Her accent was different — Sorah noticed it from Scotland. 

Sorah nodded, shrinking herself more against the corner, trying not to look at the girl. 

The girl smiled gratefully and sat down after sliding the door shut. Just before they could say anything, another girl slid open the door. This girl had light, creamy blonde hair that was rather short. Her eyes were a light grey colour and she wore a frilly blue skirt, tights and a fluffy soft sweater.

"Please may I sit in here?" she asked politely. "Everywhere else is full."

"Feel free," said the other girl.

Once all three were sat down, the red-haired girl spoke first. "I'm Levi. What are your names?"

"Oh, I'm Millie," said the blonde girl. "Millie Owens."

"Levi Amori," nodded Levi and the two girls then turned to look at Sorah. "What about you?"

"Sorah-Bella Stylan," amswered Sorah with a small, dimpled smile.

And that's how the friendship of Levi, Sorah and Millie began. On the way to Hybithia, they asked each-other mountains of questions. Levi did the most talking. They both had learned pretty quickly that Sorah was in no way a big talker.

They all know one another's Hybrids. Well, except Sorah's. Because she doesn't know what Hybrid she is. What kind of animal has little dog ears and a fluffy tail, that is obviously not a dog's tail? She wasn't even sure they were dog ears, and the tail didn't seem to come from any dog she's ever seen.

Levi was some sort of horse. She said she didn't know whether she was a pure-blood or not, because both her parents are weirdly not Hybrids. She comes from a family of witches and wizards, no such Hybrid ancestry from what Levi and her family have gathered. Both her and her twin brother, who's name is Evan, and had decided separating was a great way to make new friends, is a Hybrid—a lion cub to be exact. 

Millie is also a pure blood, with mostly big cats or small cats alike in her family. She herself is a siamese kitten, hence her black shading around her ears and creamy blonde hair. 

Levi suggested Sorah was some type of wild dog breed.

"A fox or something."

Either way, they didn't care all that much. 

They went through their colours on their wrists. All had different colours. Levi's is blue and Millie's is green. Levi said that blue meant Wisdom, Loyalty, Trust and Patience.

Sorah got asked if her parents were Hybrids and she shook her head, saying that her dad is a wizard and her mum is a Muggle. Neither seemed fazed by this. In fact, they seemed surprised. They said it was incredibly rare for parents to have a kid who's a Hybrid and neither are not, just like Levi. Sorah felt like this connected the two more. 

Millie then went on to say maybe it was in Declan's ancestry. Sorah didn't mention anything about Declan and Becca not being her real parents. No way was she going to tell them that. Even then, her real parents are not Hybrids, let-alone witches or wizards. They never mentioned anything of the sort when her and Hunter were younger.

When they arrived at Hybithia, over ten hours later, it was already pitch black but the castle-like mansion looked invitingly warm and  peaceful. Therefore, as soon as they reached through the big, open doors, there was a chill of ease through them. All of the first years looked around in wonder whereas the older students smirked at them; at their great, innocent wandering eyes. 

Eventually, they were escorted to the Main Hall where a delicious feast was awaiting them. Before they got to eat, though, a man with ears like Sorah's (but smaller) stood tall at the very front of the teachers table. He had dark brown hair, messy and jagged to the side, laughter lines by his eyes, his stature standing at 6'0. He cleared his throat and spoke: 

"Welcome students, welcome! I suppose you are all very well tired and can't wait to sleep. But we may say Hybithia's food hasn't decreased in quality since you left. We believe it has improved. And, welcome to our new students! It gives me great pleasure to welcome you here. The Prefects and older students will help you if you just ask. And don't be afraid to ask any of the teachers for help. Tomorrow, classes won't start until eleven o'clock because of new arrivals and I hope you all well! Let us all begin!"

There was great chatter among the the five long tables and everyone started to enjoy their food. Sorah was sat in between Millie and a boy with light brown hair with a black bracelet. He glanced up and smiled kindly at her. He had really dark brown eyes that you almost couldn't see his pupils. He still had small babyish features as well. Then again, most of them still do.

"Hey," he greeted. "I'm Greyson. What's your name?"

"I'm Sorah," said Sorah with a small smile.

"Are you from somewhere else?"

Sorah swallowed some chicken and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Your accent," he continued and picked up some mashed-potato on his plate.

"Oh," said Sorah, "I am German." She didn't want to talk anymore. It was making her uncomfortable.

"Ah," nodded Greyson. "I see."

After the feast, everyone was full and content. Everyone was surely to fall asleep happily and comfortably. 

The first years were shown to their dorms. 

For each and every year they had their own dorms. First years, second years... But because of the amount of students, there were three separate common rooms for all years. Thankfully enough, Sorah was with Millie and Levi. It must of been some kind of miracle.

Their room was a nice shade of warm pink and purple. The beds were normal four-poster ones with white curtains. Levi shot-gun the bed by the window and Millie took the one next to her, furthest away from the window. Sorah then picked the other one by the window, happy that she was on the left side of the room. As the three girls were getting settled into their pyjamas, the door to their room opened and in came two other girls.

One had long, straight blonde hair with piercing blue eyes. The other had brown, past shoulder length hair with huge hybrid-cat ears. She too had blue eyes, but a darker shade. Both had quite an intimidating air about them. They were tall and unfortunately pretty looking. 

Pardon Sorah, but she knows a bitch when she sees one. 

"So," said the brown haired-one, going over to the bed next to Sorah. "You've already chosen your beds."

"Well, yeah," answered Levi with a hint of attitude. "Why? Did we have to wait for you two to turn up?"

"Something along those lines," shrugged the girl, opening her case and gave a dirty look to Levi. "Now we get last choice."

"Don't take it out on her," said Millie, eyebrows furrowed. 

"Chill," said the other girl. She looked at Millie's clothes at the end of her bed and smirked. "Nice fashion sense. It really brings out your legs."

Both girls snickered and went back to unpacking. 

For the rest of the year, those two girls, Hazel and Zuri, were nothing but plain mean to them. Let's not forget that they only picked on them three.

Maybe a few other smaller students got some from them. They mostly shoved Sorah around a lot. Levi and Millie knew why. Because Sorah won't look or even try and talk to them, let alone actually standing up for herself. It's not as if she cares anyway; she can look after herself.

They have given the three of them some pretty bad bruises. Levi had to go to the Hospital Wing because after a lesson of Levitation she was knocked down a flight of stairs by Zuri. She ended up breaking her left arm and badly bruising her shoulder. Nurse Paris mended her arm quickly after but unfortunately couldn't cover all of the bruising. Nurse Paris asked how it had happened and of course Levi lied, saying she was just a bit clumsy and tripped over her own feet whilst walking down the stairs. 

Even three years later, it still goes on. Again, Sorah has gotten the worst of it and Hunter is threatening to hit those girls in the face with a chair to see how they feel about being hurt by someone bigger than them. Then Sorah had mentioned that Zuri and Hazel are about 5'6 and Hunter growled because he was still an unfortunate height for boy—5'2 at fifteen.

By the forth year was the year of the Quadwizard Tournament. Declan had mentioned this to Hunter and Sorah when they got back home from their third year and what would be happening the next time they go to school. Hunter had come back with a good story about the Death Eater (escaped from Azkaban) Sirius Black. They still haven't managed to find him but the teachers do not seem to be very concerned about Black getting to the Harry Potter again. In fact, they seemed suspiciously calm and collected at the fact Sirius Black seemed to no longer be a threat. 

Of course Sorah had heard so much about the Boy Who Lived. The Boy who survived the killing curse—the first ever—and was the cause of You-Know-Who's downfall. Hunter and Harry are quite good friends at school. They became friends while Harry was in second year after Hunter and him were paired up in Charms class and Hunter helped Harry on a mass amount of useful charms. 

Don't think Declan and Becca don't know about the bullying at Hybithia. Sorah sent home some letters, mentioning how and what had been going on. Declan had been writing various outraged letters. The Headmaster, Professor Cadwell, honestly had tried writing to their parents but there is no way of stopping it. Declan had threatened to go and see Zuri's and Hazel's parents himself but Sorah stopped him. It was just too risky.

Never in Sorah's life would she tell that badly of anyone. She didn't want to get them into trouble. 

Now that she was nearing fourth year at the new age of fourteen, she was prepared to see the wonders of Hogwarts.

But before that happened, Declan said that he had a surprise for her and Hunter.


	2. ❀The Quidditch World Cup❀

Gently, Sorah placed the neat-written letter in the envelope, walking out the front door into the dark of the night.

Sorah took a deep breath, placing her hands around her mouth, folding them and whistling. Bringing her hands down, she waited, and sung: 

A grey and small feathery owl flew down and nipped playfully at Sorah's Hybrid-ear. She let out a small giggle and held up her three letters. She looked at them and sighed. 

"Even if you fail," she breathed, her voice still as soft-spoken as it had ever been. "Levi Amori," she took the other one, "Millie Owens," and she flipped to the last one, smiling sadly and hopefully, "Rudy Stylan..." 

The owl gratefully took the letters around its leg without a fuss. Sorah lifted her right arm letting the owl run across it and fly away, huge wings creating a dust around where it left off.

Sorah turned her head in the direction of a sound near the open wood she lived in. Her ears twitched irritably and her tail's fur on end, wrapping tightly around her thigh. There was nothing to be seen. 

With a quick scan of the woods and any sense of movement, Sorah turned again towards her homes door.

She found through the window her family were getting ready to clean up dinner. After dinner she had found the time was right to send these letters. Only one out of the three had a different meaning to it.

In opening the wooden door to her comfy home, she was hit by the normal smell of light vanilla and a new smell ... cookies! She quietly closed the door and walked down the hallway, past the stairs where the dining room was. 

"Hey Sorah," greeted Hunter. "We have made cookies!"

"They smell delicious,"  said Sorah, with a small nod. "They still hot?"

Hunter tested them with his knuckles. "T-They're warm."

Sorah picked one up as well as everyone else. Once bitten, Sorah smiled, delighted at the sweet taste. "They're so good."

All of them ruffled Hunter's hair and he pouted, taking a bit out of his own.

"Damn, I'm an amazing cook!" he exclaimed. "I should make these more often."

 

* * *

 

 It was a week later and Sorah had received two letters. Both being from Levi and Millie. The letters contained information about them wanting to go to the Quidditch World Cup with her, Hunter and Declan. Unfortunately, Millie couldn't come because she's in France for a holiday. Levi, luckily, said she could come.

Sorah felt she hadn't had an inch of sleep when she was shaken awake by Hunter the day after the letters had arrived. 

"Sorah, come on," he whispered, his voice sounding scratchy. "Dad t-told us to meet him down-s-stairs in five minutes." 

Groggily, Sorah sat up. In a sense of haze, the only view she could focus on was how dark it still is. With all that she could muster, Sorah forced herself out of bed and grabbed whatever clothing she could make out in the darkness. No way is she about to turn on the lamp, let alone the main light. 

As soon as she dressed, she staggered downstairs and squinted when she came in contact with light. Declan is there, writing on some paper and Hunter is slowly eating his cornflakes—agonisingly slowly. 

Sorah giggled which caught her foster-mum's attention. "Surprise you're up, Mum," commented Sorah and Becca gave her an unamused look. 

"Well," sighed Becca, pulling at one of Sorah's fluffy ears, "someone's gotta make you breakfast."

"W-We could 'av d-d-done it ourselves," said Hunter, quietly. 

Though, unfortunately, Becca heard. "You two better watch your mouths this morning," she threatened. "Or I'll have to wash them out myself."

"Nein, Mum." Sorah shook her head, not happy with her comment. 

"Then watch with the attitudes," said Becca as she started forwards to the living room. Declan seemed to be completely oblivious to all of this and continued to scribble down on his sheet.

The thought about tasting soap nearly put Sorah off her cornflakes. Reluctantly, she began eating. Eating breakfast early in the morning is enough to make anyone feel sick. With only a few minutes to spare after eating, Sorah and Hunter brush their teeth and collect their bags for camping where the Quidditch World Cup would be held. Sorah placed her curls in plaits and headed out the door after tying a bandanna around her head to keep her ears down. Since summer had began, she could wear shorts, and the ones she wore are knee length, easy for her to keep her tail hidden from any wandering Muggles.

Becca kissed both Hunter and Sorah goodbye, meaning them to behave themselves and once the door was shut, they both smirked at each-other. Declan only rolled his eyes and they all carried on walking.

After about twenty painful minutes of walking, the suns rays finally began to show its peak. They were all walking up some hill and by the time the three were up there, Hunter was complaining about his legs aching. Sorah only giggled at Hunter's dramatics before her eyes landed on a old, floppy looking bag.

"W-What es thet for?" asked Hunter.

"An inanimate object," explained Declan, gripping his backpack over his shoulder tighter. "It's a Portkey. Come on kids, stand around it and hold on tight."

Sorah gave Hunter a look and he just shrugged his shoulders. Surely Hunter would know this stuff? It has to have something to do with wizards? Or maybe Hybrids also use them? Hesitantly, Sorah grabbed part of the bag and a feeling of vibrations sent through her, a glow of the bag present.

"Three—" counted Declan, "two—one!"

They spun through the air, but not once touching the sky. Around them wasn't anything but a mass blue. Hunter and Declan were laughing.

"Let go!" yelled Declan over the wind.

" _Vhat?!_ " exclaimed Sorah, disbelief edged in her voice.

"Let go!"

So Sorah did and the feeling of being forced backwards overcame her. She then saw Hunter and Declan surrounded by the rushing towards the ground. Without a second chance to look, she hit the ground hard (but not enough to cause pain) and saw next to her Hunter had landed too. Quickly, she sat up and looked elsewhere for Declan. Then she looked up to see him air-walking down to the ground with a satisfied smile on his face. 

"Come on you two, up!" he laughed when Hunter struggled to his feet. 

Slowly, Sorah forced herself up and looked down to see hundreds upon hundreds of tents. There was a little entrance to enter and that's exactly where the three went. Once they reach the bottom, Sorah recognised the man guarding was a Muggle ... It was so obvious because he wasn't wearing a robe like most people around here. Also, he was talking on one of those little Muggle devises. The man put the devise away and smiled at the three of them.

"Greetings, Mr. Roberts," said Declan. "How are you this morning?"

"Me?" grubbed Mr. Roberts, clearing his throat. "I am fine. You heading in here I suppose?"

"Yes," nodded Declan, fishing out some Muggle money. He quickly counted it and handed it to the man.

Sorah nudged Hunter and he just shrugged. _'Aren't you taking Muggle Studies at Hogwarts?'_ she asked him directly.

"Ve h-haven't learns abouts the money b-bit yet," whispered Hunter and smiled innocently when Mr. Roberts raised his eyebrows. Then he looked up at Declan.

"Your two?" he asked with a little smile.

Declan responded with a little nod and a pat a-top of Hunter's head. Mr. Roberts let them in and told them to enjoy their stay. Hunter then looked up at Declan.

"Why e-es a Muggle manning the part?" he asked curiously.

Declan stuffed the spare change back in his pockets and sighed, looking around. "Because he's the owner of the parts. Wizards and witches alike have worked very hard to keep this pit under control."

"Very..." muttered Hunter. 

Without further ado, they all set off and were greeted by the warm airy feeling of wizards and witches and Hybrids alike. Tents were set up everywhere. Sorah wondered whether how long it would take for them to find their tent.

"There's Levi," said Hunter, now pointing ahead of him.

Sorah squinted her eyes and soon found the familiar pink and blue dip dyed hair. The she-Hybrid was wandering around with her mum by the looks of it. Soon enough, they were only a meter away and by then, Levi had noticed Sorah. They both went over and hugged each-other tightly. Levi had a little beanie over her head to cover her ears.

"We do have a tent next to each other, right?" said Levi, her Scottish accent thick with excitement.  

Her mum nodded, smiling. "Girls have one tent and the boys have another."

 _'Where is Brook?'_   asked Sorah to Hunter and the boy shrugged, looking around helplessly.

"Dad," said Hunter, "cans I go a-and look for Brook?"

The man above him looked a bit hesitant to let foster-son wander around in a place he's never been before. "Sure," he said after a moment. "Here's our tent. You remember where it is?"

Hunter nodded and dumps his night bag on Sorah before running off to find his fellow Ravenclaw. Levi only giggled and pushed Sorah inside of their tent. An awed expression spread across Sorah's face. Though the tent looks utterly tiny, and she wondered whether all of them would fit in, it was much bigger on the inside! To the right you had a little kitchen and to the left there were a couple of couches to relax on. Straight ahead were three separate beds for each of them.

"What?" said Levi when she walked past Sorah and gave one glance at her friend. 

Sorah smiled wide, her eyes still gleaming. "I love magic."

Levi again giggled, strutting over to her now picked bed. "I don't think they'd let us have normal Muggle tents to cramp inside. We know our stuff." 

After a little while, Sorah and Levi have settled comfortably on to their beds. They let their Hybrid parts free with a sigh of relief. And as usual, Sorah was incredibly shy around Levi's mum. 

After a while, the two girls had gone out for some fresh-air and Sorah was hugged tightly by Brook.

"You're so small," said Brook with a chuckle.

Sorah shook her head, ears folded back against her hair. _'You're just tall!'_ And to prove this, she stood on her very tip-toes, tail lifting and curling. To her playful-annoyance, Brook was still so much taller—he was taller by at least a head and a half when she set her feet on the ground. 

Brook then shook hands with Levi and commented about how awesome her hair was. Levi thanked him with a smile. Then Hunter emerged from his tent, eating what looked to be cookies. Levi and Sorah immediately caught his attention by begging to have some. ~~Because Hunter is a push-over~~ —because Hunter is nice, he gladly gave the two girls a few cookies. 

For a while, Levi and Sorah spent the spare time in their tent, going through some books and drawing a bit whilst talking.

"How's yours arm?" asked Sorah very quietly, sticking her tongue out through the gap in her two front teeth from concentration.

"Mum and Dad don't think it's going to get any better, unfortunately," sighed Levi, rubbing out something in her art-pad. 

Sorah looked down with a sad expression. How she really didn't like Hazel and Zuri. Ever since Levi had broken her arm via them, it hasn't ever been the same since. 

The two girls got bored and went outside the tent where everyone else was. It was getting quite dark now and Sorah kept on checking her watch to see what time it was. And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and, at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the pitch.

"Yes!" said Brook, an excited gleam in his brown eyes. "It's time. Let's go!"

The mile to the pitch was all full of energy and light. Everyone around the woods were jumping and talking enthusiastically. Sorah felt a warm space of happiness walking with her friends and brother. Nothing else mattered but the joy of this moment.

A few moments later, they were at the entrance and were gripping their purchases. In the meantime, Declan scurried around, looking for their seats. They could hear the sounds of thousands of people around them, shouts and laughter, snatches of singing. The atmosphere of feverish excitement was highly infections; Sorah couldn't help but smile the whole way through. Levi kept on leaning over to point at something but then would nearly get scared to death about how high they were. Sorah only shook her head. For some reason she had never had a fear of heights. It never unnerved her to the core and shake her like she had watched others become. 

" _God_ ," exclaimed Declan, "seats of hundreds and thousands." Sorah and Hunter looked up at him for further explanation. "The work the Ministry had put into this. You have no idea how many Muggle-Repelling charms were cast onto this stadium. Every time a Muggle had come too near this place, they suddenly had to go off for an appointment or something else that was on their mind so suddenly." 

"Jeez!" Levi breathed out a long breath. "How far up are we?"

"We'll put it this way—"

A voice from below them made them all stop abruptly. Levi and Sorah leaned over the rail, finding three people there. All had shocking blonde hair, especially — to whom Sorah believes to be — the father.

"When it rains, you'll be the first to know."

Declan nodded, a hint of annoyance in his eyes. "Good evening, Malfoy." 

"Evening, Spencers," the man nodded.

Sorah could instantly tell the two are rivals. Never had her father mentioned someone called Malfoy, though.

Her eyes wandered to the mother and son. The mother was quite beautiful, tall, a graceful step and her long, blonde hair neatly falling across her lithe shoulders. Her son still had a few inches to go before he past her height, but held the same formal figure. The difference is that he held a tiny smirk on his face, whilst his mother kept her lips in a thin, stern line. 

"I see you have brought your daughter along." The man's gaze found hers and she had to refrain from shrinking back from his piercing, blue eyes. "Hybrid, am I correct?"

Declan placed a protective hand on Sorah's shoulder with Hunter coming up and staying by her side. 

"Hello, Stylan!" greeted the blonde boy.

Hunter nodded curtly. "Malfoy."

"Yes," Declan said with pride, "she is a Hybrid."

"Mm..." The man nodded his head. 

The boy laughed. "Father and Mother and I are in the Ministers Box. An invitation from Cornelius Fudge himself."

The father jabbed his son with the head of his walking stick. "Don't boast, Draco." The son held his middle, and the three looked back up. "There is no need for these people." Again, his eyes met Declan's and then back to Sorah's grudgingly. "Especially those to stoop as low to not only Muggles, but little Mongrels as well."

_Ouch._

Sorah saw from the corner of her eye that Levi winced and held back. 

They had no choice but to ignore that, for Mrs. Amori led Levi away and Declan held Sorah close to his side all the way up there. 

They all kept walking and finally, they all followed Declan into a small box, one of the highest's in the stadium, all looking down at the great, big pitch. It was lined with green and white ribbon. Sorah knew they'd be voting for Ireland. 

A hundred thousand witches, wizards and Hybrids alike we're taking their seats. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light that seemed to come from the stadium itself. At either end of the pitch stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them was a giant blackboard. Gold writing kept on dashing across it as though a giants invisible hand were scrawling upon it and then it wiped off again. 

"You know a team mascot will play for each of the team?" said Brook, looking through a programme he had gotten.

"Really?" said Hunter, looking at the little purple programme. "W-Wouldnt's surprise me if a ... uh ..." he looked down, puzzled. "Those green people—"

"Leprechauns," nodded Levi.

" _Ja_ ," said Hunter, "the ... Leprechaunss, if the Irish hads zem."

Overtime, other people entered their box. Some shook hands with Declan. By now Hunter and Sorah had understood why so many other knew Declan—being a journalist and all is bound to get your name somewhere. Most loved reading his columns. Some even commented about Levi's hair. Levi proudly admitted the bottom tips were natural colour.

Soon enough, everything seemed to quieten down and to underway.

A booming and loud voice broke out to every stand in the stadium. "Ladies and gentlemen ... welcome!  Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty second Quidditch World Cup!"

Everyone screamed and clapped a roar. Flags of red and gold, green and white were flying up everywhere to be seen. To add to the racket, their discordant national anthems began to dissipate. The blackboard opposite them was wiped clear of its last message, now showing BULGARIA: ZERO, IRELAND: ZERO. 

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce ... the Bulgarian Team Mascots!"

The right side of the stands, which shone with solid scarlet, roared its approval.

"Team Mascot?" said Sorah in her biggest voice she could muster. "Vat about?"

"Ah!" said Declan. "Veela."

"What's a—?" started Hunter but was cut off by the swarming of hundreds of Veela gliding out onto the pitch. 

Veela were women ... the most beautiful of women Sorah ever laid eyes on. But, they couldn't possibly be human. Sorah squinted her eyes as best as she could to the shimmering lights. 

What could make Veela skin shine like the moon, their silver-flow hair behind them without wind?

Sorah's ears fixed back to her head as the Veela started to dance. She looked around her and found that Brook, Hunter and Declan were all muttering to themselves. Their eyes held a dazed and held in a lust-loving look. Brook himself was leaning far out of the box as if he were about to jump. Levi noticed this and pulled the boy back. 

"What is wrong with you?" she said. Sorah thought this would be a good time to wave a hand in front of Hunter's face. He didn't react. 

The music stopped and Declan immediately snapped out of it, shaking his head and looking around. Levi's mum gave an amused smirk, looking ahead of her. Brook rubbed at his eyes and managed to push Hunter a bit. This brought Hunter out of his day-dream and as this was happening, angry yells filled the stadium. Sorah looked back and saw the Veela going away. No one wanted the Veela to leave yet...

"Don't fall for that," commented Mrs. Amori. "I'd cover your ears and possibly eyes next time the Veela come out to play."

"Vat?" said Hunter, wiping at his nose.

They all turned back.

"And now," roared one of the Ministers, Sorah knew Declan had told her about, Ludo Bagman. "Kindly put your wands or paws in the air ... for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Next moment, there seemed to be a green-and-gold comet zooming into the stadium. It did one circuit and then managed to split up into two comets, each hurtling towards the gold-balls of light. A rainbow arced suddenly across the pitch, connecting the two balls of light. There was a series of "oooohhhs," and "aaaahhhs," as though everyone were at a firework display. The kind of fireworks Sorah and Hunter would see as young children in the midst of November. Now the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great, shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands. Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it—

"Money?" said Levi, completely and utterly dumbfounded but amazed.

"Leprechaun money," said Declan. "You catch it?"

Levi stood over the stands, trying her best not to look down and caught a couple of pure-golden coins in the small of her hands. 

"This is bloody brilliant!" she laughed.

 _'Es it real?'_ Sorah tapped Levi shoulder to get her attention, looking at the glowing glitter.

"Yes," said Mrs. Amori, knowing Sorah's incapability to speak at times. "Though, unfortunately, after a few hours, it disappears."

"So," said Brook, amusement laced within his low voice "the Leprechauns are cheeky, little bastards?"

"You could put it that way," said Mrs. Amori. 

Sorah looked up from where the gold coins were now coming from. With great astonishment, she saw that there were thousands of little, tiny, bearded men with red waistcoats, each carrying a minute lamp of gold and green.

"I knew et!" shouted Hunter, hands up with impressiveness. "The Leprechaunss!"

The great shamrock faded and the little Leprechauns crossed the pitch and sat crossed legged next to the Veela, ready to watch the match.

Sorah watched and listened as Ludo Bagman was announcing the Bulgarian and Irish team players. There was an uproar when a Bulgarian seeker named Victor Krum came zooming into the middle of the pitch on his broom. Victor Krum was thin, dark and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He looked like an overgrown bird of prey. Sorah couldn't believe the fact that he was only eighteen.

"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chair-wizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!" 

From where they could see, a small and skinny wizard, completely bald but with a moustache, wearing pure gold robes to match the stadium, strode out into the pitch. A silver whistle was protruding from under the moustache, and he was carrying a large wooden crate under one arm, his broomstick under the other. Sorah saw Hunter and Levi adjust their glasses literally at the same time, leaning over a bit more to get a better look. At that very moment, Sorah mentally cursed for not bringing her glasses. 

They all watched closely as Mostafa mounted his broom and kicked open the wooden crate—four balls burst into the air; the scarlet Quaffle, the two black Buldgers and the tiny, Golden Snitch. With a sharp blast of the whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls.

"And theeeeeeeey're OFF!" screamed Bagman. "And it's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!"

It was the Quidditch Sorah had seen being played back at Hybithia. The speed of the players were incredible—the Chasers were throwing the Quaffle to each-other so fast that Bagman only had time to say their names.

The three Irish Chasers stuck close together, Troy in the centre, slightly ahead of Mullet and Moran. They were all beating down among the Bulgarians. 'Porskoff Ploy' flashed upon the blackboard as Troy made as though to dart upwards with the Quaffle, drawing away the Bulgarian Chaser Ivanova, and dropping the Quaffle to Moran. One of the Bulgarian Beaters, Volkov, swung hard at a passing Buldger with his small club, knocking it into Moran's path; Moran dropped to avoid the Buldger and dropped the Quaffle whilst doing so; and Levski, soaring beneath, caught it, but as soon as he did Troy soared down and knocked it out of his hand, flying high and—

"TROY SCORES!" roared Bagman and the stadium shuddered with a roar of applause and cheers. "Ten-zero to Ireland!"

Brook was jumping up and down, cheering loudly. Sorah giggled at his silly dance as Troy did a lap of honour around the pitch. The Leprechauns from the side lines had risen into the air again, forming the great, glittering shamrock. Across from the pitch, the Veela were watching them sulkily.

The Irish Chasers were superb about their work. They worked as a seamless team, appearing to read each-other's minds the way they arranged themselves around each other. And in the next ten minutes, Ireland had scored twice more, bringing the score to thirty-zero. Of course there was an even bigger thunderous roar from the team of green-clad supporters. 

The match itself became still fast and more brutal. Volkov and Vulchanov, the Bulgarian Beaters, were whacking the Buldgers as fiercely as possible at the Irish Chasers, that were starting to prevent them from using their best moves; twice they were forced to scatter, and then, finally, Ivanova managed to break trough their ranks, dodge the Keeper, Ryan and score Bulgaria's first goal.

Brook, Declan and Hunter immediately covered their ears, reminding themselves of what Mrs. Amori said.

Sorah rubbed at her eyes when the Veela started dancing in celebration. After a few seconds, Levi nudged Hunter and Brook and Sorah did the same with Declan. All three opened their eyes that they had squeezed shut and uncovered their ears, sighing in relief.

"Boys..." Levi rolled her eyes and Sorah only laughed quietly.

"Dimitrov! Levski! Dimitrov! Ivanova—oh, I say!" roared Bagman.

Two seekers soared a hundred miles an hour; so fast it looked as if they had just jumped from aeroplanes into parachutes. It looked as if they had seen the Golden Snitch. 

Sorah leaned over the bar, not caring how far over the edge she was. She needed to see where the Snitch was. 

"They're going to crash!" screamed Levi, pointing desperately.

She was half right—at the very last second, Viktor Krum pulled out of the dive and spiralled off. Lynch, however, hit the ground with a dull thud that could be heard from all over the stadium. A huge groan rose within the Irish seats. 

"Hang on..." said Sorah, standing up straight again and folded her ears back against her head. She turned to Levi, a frown set upon her face. "Viktor was feinting..."

Levi sighed and saw that Brook looked outraged.

"That's a foul!" he shouted angrily. "That low-life piece of motherfu—"

"Brook!" said Hunter, covering his friends mouth with the small of his hand. Hunter had to stand on his tip toes. 

"It's time out!" yelled Bagman's voice. "As trained mediwizards hurry onto the pitch to examine Aidan Lynch!"

"He'll b-buh-be okayss, won't he?" asked Hunter, his blue eyes glinting with worry.

"Of course, kiddo," said Declan, ruffling Hunter's already mess of curls. "It's what Krum wanted to happen."

"Viktor did that on purpose!" growled Brook, crossing his arms over his chest. The people in their box were not very happy too since they were also Irish supporters. 

Lynch had finally gotten to his feet and pulled up on his broomstick. The fans and Leprechauns went wild with joy at his courage and determination. When Mostafa blew his whistle again, the Chasers moved into action with a skill unrivalled by anything Sorah had seen so far. 

After fifteen more fast and furious minutes, Ireland had pulled ahead by ten more goals. They were now leading by one hundred and thirty points to ten, and the game was starting to get dirtier. 

As Mullet shot towards the goalposts yet again, clutching the Quaffle tightly under her arm, the Bulgarian Keeper, Zograf, flew out to meet her. Zograf flew straight at her, knocking the Quaffle out of her arm and furious screams outraged the green-clad Irish fans. Mostafa long, shrill of the whistle  mash told them it was a foul. 

"And Mostafa takes the Bulgarian Keeper to task for cobbing—excessive use of the elbows!" Bagman informed the roaring spectators. "And—yes!—it's a penalty to Ireland!"

The Leprechauns, who had risen angrily into the air of the incident, now sat back, amused and shouted "HA, HA, HA!" The Veela on the other side of the stadium leapt to their feet, tossed their hair angrily behind them and started to dance.

As the three boys covered their ears, Levi starting tugging on Sorah's Hybrid-ear from behind, giggling. Sorah followed her pointed finger.

Hassan Mostafa had landed right in front of the dancing Veela, and was acting very oddly indeed. He was flexing his muscles and smoothing his moustache excitedly. 

"Now, we can't have that!" said Ludo Bagman, though he sounded highly amused. "Somebody slap the referee!"

The rest of the game seemed such a blur for Sorah. (And it wasn't because of her lack of glasses). She spent most her time folding back her Hybrid-ears in attempt to block out the loud noises. She kept leaning over the rail with Brook and were constantly pulled back by either Hunter or Levi.

There was another accident involving Krum and Lynch because then, they had both spotted the Golden Snitch and were diving down for it. Krum managed to catch it whilst Lynch hit the ground with a full thud, yet again. 

The score board had flashed BULGARIA: ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY, IRELAND: ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY. 

Slowly, as though the great jumbo jet was revving up, the rumbling form the Ireland supporters louder and louder until they erupted into screams of delight.

"IRELAND WIN!" shouted Bagman, who, like the Irish, seemed to be taken aback by the sudden end of the match. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH—BUT IRELAND WIN—good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that."

Brook managed to pick Hunter up (who yelped in surprise) and hugged him closely and incredibly tightly. Hunter was laughing and hugged Brook back with a gentler touch.

Levi and Sorah jumped up and down, high-five-ing and cheered down at the dancing Leprechauns and the flying-fasts of the Ireland team. The people in their box were cheering loudly too, hollering down to the players, happily.

Sorah never felt the joy of this. It felt amazing.

Soon enough, people started leaving their boxes but never did the noise quieten down. Sorah hugged Hunter once Brook had let him go. Levi and Brook fist-bumped and Declan and Mrs. Amori rolled their eyes at the kids before escorting them out of the box. 

The mile walk back to the camp sight didn't seem to take as long as it first did. Everyone around them (at least the Irish supporter's) were singing their team anthem in loud, drunken voices.

"Trust the Irish to start drinking the chance they get," commented Declan.

"Can we have some Butterbeer?" asked Brook, his arm resting on Hunter's shoulder as they all walked.

"I don't suppose why not," said Mrs. Amori. "Do your parents know?"

"Of course!" said Brook.

"Then of course," agreed Declan. 

As soon as they had gotten back to the camp site, Levi went to her tent and brought out some marshmallows. 

"Who's up for s'mores?" she squealed excitedly and Declan came out with some Butterbeer's. Everyone gladly excepted some and Levi also brought out some plain biscuits and chocolate they melted over the warm, blazing fire. 

Sorah kept a close eye on Hunter and Brook. There legs were touching, Brook's looking so much longer than Hunter's short ones. Brook kept on leaning in closely to Hunter and made her brother giggle from time-to-time. 

The Irish would sometimes come dancing their direction and one time nearly stepped on one of Hunter's perfectly made s'mores. The boy adjusted his glasses and pushed one of them away. Declan chuckled and ruffled Hunter's hair. Brook mimicked Declan and leaned down to place a kiss on his unruly hair. Levi cooed and Sorah raised an eyebrow questionably. Hunter flushed a dark red whilst Mrs. Amori and Declan chuckled. 

"It's getting late," said Declan about an hour later. "We should all get some shut-eye. We can go hiking tomorrow."

Brook shot Declan a look of horror.

"Only joking," said Declan, standing up and stretching his long arms over his head. Sorah and the rest also got up, packing away the little plastic bags that had rubbish in and put out the fire with some water. Declan kissed Sorah's forehead and bid goodnight to Mrs. Amori and Levi. 

It took quite a long time for Levi and Sorah to fall asleep because they wouldn't stop talking and sometimes would randomly burst out laughing.

"Come on girls," said Mrs. Amori from not so far. "Go to sleep. You might have to wake up early in the morning."

"Sorry Mum," apologised Levi but Sorah could tell she was trying not to laugh. "Night!"

"Night, girls!"

Sorah sighed and set in a comfortable position.

Levi also sighed quietly, mainly letting out a huff of quiet giggles. "I wish Millie were here."

" _Ja_ ," said Sorah. "It's unfortunate she hadz to go Francé."

Sorah heard Levi turn. "I guess we better get some sleep ... do you have your stuff ready for fourth year?"

" _Ja_ , I gotz the new Hypnosis book you asks me to get," answered Sorah. 

"Okie donkey," said Levi. "Well, goodnight..."

 _"Gute nacht,"_ — "Good night," yawned Sorah, closing her eyes.


	3. ❀Hollow Forest❀

"Sorah, Sorah, _wake up!_ " Levi's voice was drowning in a fear of sudden cries and shouts.

Sorah, dreary from sleep, sat up slowly and rubbed at her eyes. When her sight adjusted she saw a frantic looking Levi, pulling on her coat over her pyjamas.

"Levi—" started Sorah but was suddenly yanked out of bed by her friend. 

"No time to lose!" said Levi. "Quickly, grab your coat! We're going!"

Sorah saw in the darkness the shape of Mrs. Amori hurrying to get some stuff together. Sorah did as Levi told her, chucking on her soft, warm coat on and quickly getting on her trainers. Levi gave a backpack to Sorah and she knew that it had some of their valuable stuff in it. 

"Come on, out, _out!_ " fretted Mrs. Amori, pushing Levi and Sorah out of the tent.

It came to a painful shock to Sorah to see the whole of the camp was in flames and fear. There were wizards and witches and Hybrids everywhere, scrambling to places and and shouting, screaming, running for their lives it seemed. Mrs. Amori furiously shut the tent and they were met with Declan and the boys. Brook had his eyebrows furrowed, looking up at the sky. Sorah followed his gaze and gasped horribly.

There was Mr. Roberts! At least it looked like him. But with him we're a few small kids and a woman. They were all being thrown about and held high up in the air. It made Sorah sick to her stomach.

"Here!" Declan pulled out a blue and red bandanna, giving one to Mrs. Amori. He quickly pulled Sorah's ears back and tied them down with the red bandanna. Mrs. Amori did the same with the blue one for Levi. Hybrids around them were purposely hiding their ears and tails. _What is going on?_

"Levi ... Sorah," said Brook, over the wails of despair, "wrap your tails around you legs and keep hidden!"

"Kids!" said Declan, "get to the forest, now!"

"No, Papa!" cried Hunter, sounding utterly terrified. He must have accidentally shouted 'Papa' instead of 'Dad'. Their fear of losing their real Dad would always stick with the both of them.

"Go!" ordered Declan, pushing Hunter away. "Keep your sister and Levi hidden!"

"Mum!" Levi hugged her mum tightly and Mrs. Amori sighed, hugging her back.

"Go with them, Levi," she said, pushing her back. "I'll be fine."

That said, Declan and Mrs. Amori struck off into a completely different direction to the forest, their wands both out. Brook and Hunter also both had their wands out. 

With his spare hand, Hunter grabbed Sorah's wrist and the four of them weaved their way out of the charging wizards, Hybrids and witches. 

"What's going on?" said Levi, dodging a beam of light that was aimed by a Hybrid.

"Death Eaters!" shouted Brook. "They're after Muggle borns and Hybrids! Keep down!"

"Levi!" said Sorah desperately. 

" _Fight Fire With Fire!_ " yelled Levi and a ball of fire appeared in her wide-opened hands. She breathed a deep breath and threw it over their heads, landing on a masked figure. 

"Levi!" said Brook, pushing her to run. 

" _Ow!_ " winced Levi, "watch my arm, you daft wizard!"

Brook ignored Levi's cry for an insult, pushing them all in front.

Sorah yanked her arm free of Hunter's hand, implying she can look after herself.

"Nows es not the time, Sorah-Bella!" growled Hunter. 

Sorah bared her fangs at him and they kept running. Just keep running ... Sorah told herself and ignored the voice telling her to let free. 

The forest seemed miles and miles away from them. Sorah's chest heaved with painful breaths and because of the fire, it slowed them all down the very least. Levi was nearly wheezing and Sorah held out her hand, pulling her along. 

Finally, they had made it to the forest. Mostly here were a lot of kids, including Hybrids. Most of the adults were somewhere out there. Hunter wrapped his arms around Sorah, chocking on the flames filling his lungs. Sorah hugged back, squeezing her eyes shut. 

"By careful, Stylan!" a drawling, sneering voice called from behind them. "I hear they're after mudblood's!"

Sorah and Hunter separated and saw Brook fuming with anger. They were now all looking at a boy with pale skin and white-blonde hair. _Literally._ His hair was near enough white. Levi stuck close to Sorah.

"I've never seen an albino before," she whispered. 

 _'Are you sure he is one?'_ Sorah replied back, her tone quieter than a whisper—even in ones head.

Brook came out with some colourful language that Sorah winced at and Hunter grabbed hold of Brook's arm, dragging him back.

"I swear to God, Malfoy, you dare call Muggleborns that again..." he ground out through clenched teeth, his brown eyes a darker colour—they were almost black.

"You better watch out too, then," said the boy. It was the Malfoy’s son from earlier. “You two are such Muggle lovers, it's disgusting." The boy scoffed and smirked, his body leaning up against a tree and arms crossed over his chest. "Chill out, Ashworth. I've just been having a similar conversation with Potter and Weasley—had a few well chosen vocabulary for me too. Which is amazing considering the Weasley's are a bunch of red-headed weasels— _ah!_ " his grey eyes turned to Levi. "Every group of friends needs a ginger."

Levi raised an eyebrow and then rolled her eyes. Brook ran a hand through his hair. Sorah's surprised the boy hadn't run for it yet. The boy wasn't tall, neither small like Hunter, but was visibly smaller than Brook. Sorah would have immediately turned if she even accidentally picked a fight with Brook. 

"By the Lion, Malfoy, grow up." 

Hunter glared at the boy and grabbed his sisters wrist, pulling her away. The boy laughed in the distance and Sorah looked at Hunter for an explanation.

"He's vone of those w-who don't like the w-witches or wizards who have Muggle's f-ff-for parents," said Hunter, letting go of Sorah's wrist. His eyebrows furrowed in an annoyed expression. "Our parents, I'm sure, were Muggles."

"Were they?" Levi suddenly came up beside them. Sorah shrugged. She didn't exactly see her parents pull out a wand or do any strange things around them in sense of danger or anything like that. "That's pretty cool," said Levi. "Wonder how you're a Hybrid then."

Brook has now caught up with them. His knuckles looked snow-white from clenching them so tightly in a fit of silent rage. "So you have no Muggle's or half-bloods in your family? No Squibs either?" he questioned, quite interested.

Levi looked up at the dark sky, which was mostly covered by the large branches of trees. "Not that I know of."

"Wait," said Hunter. "Hybrids, or the ... wizards?" he spoke with his words carefully. 

"Wizards and witches," confirmed Levi with a simple nod. "But, if Evan and I are Hybrids, there is bound to be some Hybrid ancestry."

"Gotta be," said Brook but then looked down at Hunter and Sorah. "What about Sorah? Where did that come from?"

"How vould I know?" snapped Hunter, anger laced in his posture and tone. This caught the three others aback by his harsh voice. "O-Our parents are no ver to be founds, so how vod ve know? M-Might as vell n-not bother."

Sorah lowered her eyes, rubbing the coat of her arm. Her ears were aching under the bandanna and as if Levi had read her mind, she wondered out loud that they could take them off.

Brook stood still as did the rest of them. They listened. 

"Ver is Dad?" said Hunter, worriedly. 

"Where's Mum?" murmured Levi, taking off her glasses and cleaning the dust and ash off of them. When she put them back on, her eyes were no longer squinted to see. 

Even from as far as they went, they could still hear the distant screams and see the fire flames of burning tents and whatnot. 

"Keep walking," said Brook. 

So they did. They passed a group of goblins who looked to be handing out chains of gold to each other. Sorah figured they'd won a bet over the match. Further along they walked into a patch of silvery light, and when they looked through the trees, they saw another group, but this time they were Veela. A few men were crowding around them, seemingly entranced by their beauty. 

Sorah felt a feeling of anxiety wash over her and bumped close to Hunter for comfort. Even in his sudden change of mood, he sensed his little sisters panic and placed his arm around her shoulders. 

"It's alright," he whispered, only audible for them to hear.

"I vant Dad," squeaked Sorah, squeezing her eyes shut and leaning more into Hunter. "Vat's happened?"

"Shh," crooned Hunter, "it's okay. Dad es fine. H-He's vone of the b-b-bravest wizards ever. Don't you worry." Hunter looked over. "Can we mm-maybe stay near a quiet place ... buts, n-not too far out. Just to be close."

Brook seemed to understand and right away spotted a big tree where the ground looked dry enough to sit. They all went over and sat down. Levi then noticed Sorah's glazed expression and took her hand. It was a kind comfort and Sorah gladly excepted it, smiling in appreciation. Levi nudged her slightly in a gesture to say it's alright. Hunter was on the right side of Sorah, linking his left arm with her right. Brook sat opposite the free, his wand alight when he cast, " _Lumos!_ "

Hunter did the same and they were warmed by the great bit of light they needed.

"When do you think it's safe to go back?" said Levi after a while. They all never noticed how distant and quiet the sounds have gotten. In fact, Sorah could only make out the nature sounds. It calmed her nerves and she leaned into her brother, quite content. 

No one answered Levi's question. It didn't need an answer.

Things seemed to quiet down a lot more after 20 minutes. There was no more screaming.

The forest was a dead heaven. 

Brook shook Levi awake as Sorah and Hunter got up to stretch. 

"We gotta see what's happened," whispered Brook. 

"Why are you whisperin'?" said Levi groggily, fixing her glasses that were a bit lopsided. 

Brook shrugged. "Many reasons."

It seemed pretty warm. The fire's around seemed to have gone out. But because of them, the air around them stayed a fairly comfortable warm temperature.

They all got up, Levi tripping over her own feet from being so tired. Brook patted her on the head when she managed to get back up again. Giving him the finger playfully, she trotted along side Hunter and all walked through the forest. Still, the trees were stagnant and no noise was to be heard. Sorah gripped tight to Hunter loose and sweaty hand. Hunter had placed his glasses in his pockets in fear of breaking them. Then again, it was bugging him that he had to keep squinting his eyes.

"Why not put your glasses on, Hunter?" said Levi, also looking at Hunter. 

"Meh..." shrugged Hunter, looking ahead. "Just incase ve run into anysing—"

"If anything, they'll get crushed if you keep them in your pockets," said Levi with a shrug of her own. 

Hunter rubbed at his eyes, tiredly yawning. "Good—excuse to buys new pairs."

Levi smiled, rolling her eyes. 

" _Lumos,_ " Brook spoke up, wand out. It shone bright and finally they were able to see better. He looked down at Levi. "Any chance of doing that fire thing?"

Levi kept walking, but worded out quietly, " _Burn_ _Lighter_ _Than_ _Fire_ _._ " With that said, fire swirled in and out of her spread fingers and eventually formed into two balls of light. She placed them together and created an even bigger light. 

Hunter an Brook watched in admiration. 

"Can Sorah do that?" questioned Brook, fascinated.

Sorah shook her head and Levi answered Brook's question, "No one has been known to do that in Hybithia."

"Do you always have to say something before it?" said Brook.

Levi nodded, keeping her right hand out in front of her. "Otherwise it won't work. But Professor Beowulf is making up a Potion or kind of skill to use so I don't have to speak before it anymore. I quite like it though—making up your own quotes randomly."

"How do you ... undo it?" said Brook, turning his wand slightly at a light cracking sound. He seemed unfazed by it, though.

"Well," started Levi, "it’s just a trick of a switch really. I can control it however I want. I don’t really have to say anything to make it work.” The fire immediately reduce into a nano ball until it was completely invisible to the eye. 

"Zat es icre-increddibibily cool!" Hunter stammered over his words, blushing that he couldn't pronounce a word. "I vish I-I c-could do that!"

" _Alight My Case._ " The same progress erupted from Levi's Hybrility. "Come on, we gotta go on." 

So they did. They walked for another ten minutes before they seemed to find another source of light other than their own. Levi muttered something and her ball of fire slowly disappeared.

"Brook," said Hunter, "take down the light."

" _Nox_ ," said Brook, and his wand was no longer alight. 

They crept along the wood line and found themselves at one of the entrances to the camp. Only now, it no longer looked like a camp. It now looked like a mass of a zombie apocalypse had taken place and the only thing left alive were the patches of grass that hadn't been splintered by the fires. All was still quiet. No screams. No rustling of feet. No nothing. It was almost abandoned.

Sorah turned to Levi, who turned back. They both gave each-other a knowing look. Levi nodded at the thought.

"We can use our Vision," said Levi. "To look for any survivors. There is no way we can crawl into that abyss."

"What does vision do?" said Brook, rubbing his hands together in a way to warm them up.

"It helps us see far and wide," explained Levi. "And do not make a comment about how I do not need glasses because of this _—_ I still do." Brook placed his hands up in defence as if to say he wasn't even going to make a statement on it. "It allows us to walk around without even moving. Although, it would be better if Sorah and I do it together as we are only Grade 4 at Vision. If we were fully functional Hybrids, we could easily do it by ourselves."

"Go ahead," said Hunter. 

Levi and Sorah stepped in front, only a good metre away from mass destruction. Slowly, they raised their hands slightly and then linked their hands, intertwining their fingers, radiating each different warmth they generously gave out. In a silent sigh, they closed their eyes, eyelashes fanning against their cheeks and gripped tightly, no longer giving off a gentle aura.

They had only done this a handful of times, and this was their first outside of school. 

A jolt of electricity buzzed through their arms and down to curl around their hands. In front of their closed eyes they leapt inside of the camps. From each direction they looked, there was either a burned down tent or a half burned one. Either way, they were almost non-existent to be seen. It almost felt as if they were flying high, Sorah having to drag Levi along with her. The burning of each green grass turned brown smelled of sorrow and hurt. Sorah didn't know what to make of this once jovial and warm camp, now collapsing with ruins.  

Suddenly, from in front, there was a peculiar sound. They stopped mid-vision and swirled around, tails anxiously swishing behind them. What happened next nearly stopped her their line of concentration. A shot of bright green light raced passed the demolished tents and into the cloudy, night sky. It exploded with a loud _boom!_   _—_ startling the two Hybrids. Sorah gasped, looking up at it. The clouds (or rather, it possibly wasn't the clouds) toke shape of a skull. What was more disturbing about this skull was the fact it had some sort of serpent reviving from its mouth. There were now another set of screams. 

Deciding the theu had intruded too much and standing, vulnerable and holding hands with no control over their body, they quickly forced theur hands away from each-other, gasping for air. They both looked at one another, fear sparking an interest in their eyes.

"You must have seen that," said Brook, his brown eyes hardly seen in fear. "We are so fucked." Sorah cocked her head to the side, confused. 

"It's _His_ Mark, Sorah," hissed Hunter, visibly shaken. " _The Dark Mark._ " 

"You-Know-Who?" said Sorah, looking up. "Oh God..." she gulped and leaned more towards Hunter. "Ver's Dad?" she whimpered quietly. 

Brook sighed, frustrated, running his fingers through his hair and gesturing them to follow. They didn't hear anything else. But the wizard or witch (or maybe Hybrid) who sent the Dark Mark into the air is either still around or has already escaped.

"I wonder who's passed..." Brook said more to himself a few minutes later. 

"Vat—?" started Sorah, confused when Hunter nudged her.

"Ven a w-w-witch or w-wizard ss-sends the Dark Mark et means they hath killed," Hunter explained. "Not a pretty sight."

Sorah kept her head down, heart beating double the amount it's supposed to. Where was everyone? Hardly anyone seemed to be in the forest! What happened? Why are Death-Eaters suddenly around? 

There were so many questions, yet not enough answers. Papa normally knew the answers to everything... But he wasn't here, so she had to be brave and suck it up.

" _There!_ " hissed Brook and they all instantly stopped. "I saw something."

Levi groaned quietly. "Maybe your eyesight is as poor as your brain."

Just as Brook was about to argue, there was calling. A calling of someone's name. 

"Dad..." said Hunter, quickly turning around. " _Dad!_ "

" _Shh!_ " Brook had his hands suddenly around Hunter's mouth, a little too harshly. "Are you crazy, Hunter?"

Sorah furrowed her eyebrows and gave a light push to Brook. "Don't ... you are hurting him..."

Brook let go and Hunter glared at him through watery eyes. Sorah tried to comfort but Hunter waved her off, now searching around frantically. 

" _Levi!_ "

Levi's ears twitched. "Mum!"

" _Sorah! Hunter!_ "

"Dad!" repeated Hunter, his voice cracking. 

There was a few leaves and twigs rustling and snapping when Mrs. Amori and Declan came into view. Behind them was another woman who had long, brown hair and light hazel-eyes. Brook's mother.

"Ah, Mum!" cried Brook, stuffing his wand in his pocket and ran into her arms. It looked odd but sweet in Sorah's eyes as Brook was practically taller than his mum. 

Levi ran to her mum whilst Sorah and Hunter tackled Declan. Hunter buried his face in Declan's chest as Sorah hugged both Hunter and her foster-dad. He was here now, so she was safe. And he's okay. 

"Thank Merlin, you're alright," said Mrs. Ashworth, caressing Brook's cheek and other hand rubbing through his hair. She had to look up to him slightly. 

"Thank Merlin you are," said Brook. "Where's Dad?" 

"With the other Auror's," said Mrs. Ashworth. 

"What happened?" queried Levi, holding her mum's hand. "Are the Death Eaters gone?"

Declan nodded, arm around Hunter's shoulder and stroking Sorah's ears with his other hand. "Unfortunately, none were caught—"

" _Spencers!_ " someone yelled. 

Declan whipped around at his name, wand drawn and then breathed a sigh of relief. He put his wand back to his side. A man with glasses and a scrubby brown beard was running towards them, and with him was another boy. A really handsome looking boy.

"Amos," said Declan. "Where is everyone?"

The man breached heavily next to Declan and Brook waved at the boy. The boy smiled politely and nodded in acknowledgement. 

"They're safe," said Amos. "They're safe. What brings you here?"

"For my children," replied Declan, eyebrows furrowed.

Amos looked down. "Ah, Hunter Stylan. Cedric knows you, of course."

The boy, Cedric, nodded again. "Ravenclaw," he said. 

"And your daughter?" said Amos, "a Hybrid. You gotta be careful. Same with your daughter, Lily.” He nodded at Mrs. Amori.

"They’re safe," said Declan, squeezing Sorah's shoulder. 

Amos breathed a sigh. "I'd follow the others, Declan. The Ministry are searching for the culprit of who launched that into the air." He pointed to the Dark Mark. "That way. I gotta search. Cedric, stay here with them. Lead them."

"I'm not a kid, Diggory," snapped Declan, taking his hand off of Sorah's shoulder. "I'm coming with."

"And so am I," said Mrs. Amori. She turned to Brook's mum. "You don't mind staying with the kids, right?" 

"Not at all," said Mrs. Ashworth. 

Mrs. Amori kissed Levi's forehead and Declan hugged both Sorah and Hunter. "I'll be back," he said and then started running off with Amos and Mrs. Amori, wands all out.

"This way," gestured Cedric and they all followed, Mrs. Ashworth staying beside Cedric to discuss a few things. Cedric was leading them away from the forest this time, but also away from the camp sight. 

"What do these all mean?" wondered Levi out loud.

Brook chuckled nervously. "Your guess is as good as mine. We're only kids. Especially you two."

Sorah and Levi glared. "We're a year younger," murmured Levi, her cheeks burning red.

"Not by much..." said Sorah. "Hunter said you are an August baby."

Brook blushed. "Doesn't matter..."

"That's what I thought," said Levi, crossing her arms over her chest.

They then both heard Brook mutter, "Note to self; never mess with short girls and their friends."

This caused little giggles to erupt from Levi and Sorah as they high-five-d. 

No one spoke, except from Cedric and Mrs. Ashworth. 

Sorah guessed that the Death Eaters are arise again, after thirteen years.


	4. ❀Small Dove❀

After the whole ordeal at the Quidditch World Cup, everyone immediately collected what was left of their belongings and went home. Mr. Roberts looked completely unharmed when they walked out the entrance, chanting "Merry Christmas," and Declan waved him off with a small smile. 

"He'll be alright," Declan had assured.

When they had arrived at the Portkey, there were a number of witches and wizards surrounding it and Basil, the keeper of the Portkey's, panicking to get out the campsite as quickly as possible. Levi, Mrs. Amori and Mrs. and Mr. Ashworth took a different Portkey to the others.

Levi went home but Brook stayed with Sorah and Hunter for the rest of the holiday's; Mrs Ashworth promising to see him at Kings Cross. 

Becca had come flying at Declan, Sorah and Hunter when they made it through the house, clutching the Daily Prophet in her hands, the headlines:  **SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP.**

" _Oh_ , thank God you're all alright!"

Declan only chuckled and said to the kids she'd be back to herself in a couple more hours. 

Millie also made a surprise visit to Levi's and then decided to stay around her place until the term ends. 

Brook sat down with the Daily Prophet and scolded whilst reading. This was later on in the evening being after getting back. His legs were spread across one of their sofa's which made Declan shake his head. Their house was like Brook's second home.

"It's disgusting what they have written in here," he said angrily. Declan made his way over.

"Ahh," he said, unamused by scanning it a few times.

"Vat?" said Hunter, also making his way over.

Sorah stayed on the opposite side, already haven read the Daily Prophet just after they came through the door. 

"Of course," continue Declan. "Rita Skeeter."

"Sorry?" said Brook. "Who's that?"

"An annoying, petty blonde who writes a lot of stories and makes them to be an even bigger deal than they are."

"So ... lies?" said Sorah, sitting up straighter. 

"Yes, lies," nodded Declan. 

"Dad, y-you should write the papers," said Hunter. "You ver there!"

"Thanks, kiddo," chuckled Declan. "But I'm a Journalist, not a Prophet Editor." 

Hunter grumbled something under his breath and plonked himself down next to Sorah. He landed on Sorah's tail and when she squeaked, he quickly got up, pushed her tail and sat back down again.

"Is it that time of the month?" queried Brook, with a smirk on his features.

Hunter pulled out his wand from his pocket. "I vill s-stick this up your—"

"Ahem," said Declan, sternly. "No."

"Cavity...?" Hunter slowly stared and stuffed his wand back in his pocket.

Declan rolled his eyes.

"I'll let you off," he said and walked out of the room. 

Brook still had to remove the smirk off of his face. "I don't think any things gonna be going up there. But I wouldn't deny something up yours—"

Sorah raised an eyebrow when Hunter pointed his finger at Brook. "I s-ss-swear to G-God, if you's don't shut your trap—"

"Your accent is adorable," chuckled Brook, "especially when angry."

"..."

Sorah got up and walked out of the room to avoid any awkward conversations and made her way to the door and walked outside to the post box. As the usual, there was no letter from her Papa. Not one saying to Sorah-Bella. Because Papa always called her Sorah-Bella. Never Sorah. It had to come out as Sorah-Bella.

The night was cool and a couple of lights ahead caught her attention. Fireflies.  _You can make wishes with fireflies!_ Sorah giggled slightly.

Without another glance, she headed back inside and locked the door. She handed Becca a letter to her and made her way upstairs. Now would be the good time to get some homework done. So she did just that. Becca had her dad fit in a little desk for Sorah. And Sorah greatly appreciated it and had hugged him, giving him some home-made chocolate which Sorah knew he loved. 

She sat down and pulled out her Potions assignment that she was half way through getting done. Her other homework except from the History of Hybrids was all done. All done before the Quidditch World Cup. Pretty much all done by the third week of the two month holiday they get. She spent most of it down at Levi's or Millie's or either spending her days in the forest. It was where she found her peace and quiet. Unfortunately, she forgot about her Potions homework and that was just a day before the Quidditch World Cup. She only managed to get half done.

Now that she was doing it now reminded her of the History of Hybrids homework and that made her groan. So much homework can make a kid depressed, did you know that? Back to her Potions... An hour and a half later, Sorah managed to write a foot and a half long Potions assay and written down random facts on the History of Hybrids. For the rest until dinner, she sketched in her art pad. She was sketching a small kitten and it's mother when Becca called her down for dinner.

Brook and Hunter were there and sitting close together again. This upset Sorah a bit since her and Hunter always sit together. But ever since Brook has been coming round, she's gotten to realise that Brook won't be sharing her brother anytime soon. 

"So," said Becca, dishing out everyone's food. Today's food was a traditional British roast, with chicken. Sorah was about to reach for the gravy when Brook's hand got to it first. Her ears lowered, in a patient gesture for him to have it. "How are the Journal's going, dear?"

Declan stuffed a potato quickly down his throat to answer Becca's question. "They're doing great," he said. "I gotta be off, though—first thing tomorrow morning."

"Why es thet?" questioned Hunter, as Sorah finally got a hold of the gravy. "Es i-it to do with the Quidditch World Cup."

Declan nodded. "They gotta a lot of reports now going. I've to be there as soon as I can."

Hunter nodded, playing around with his food. "S-SS-So, you von't be here?"

"Not much..." said Declan. "Don't worry. The next weekend I'll show you. Becca and I have something to give the two of you, anyway."

Sorah and Hunter made eye contact for a brief second before looking at their foster-father again. "Vat surprise?" said Hunter.

"Yeah," Brook spoke up. "Is there something I should know?"

Declan chuckled. "I'm pretty sure Lucinda has a surprise for you, too."

"Thanksgiving?" asked Brook.

Sorah rolled her eyes. Didn't Hunter say Ravenclaw's were for the intelligent? Levi was right. 

Over half an hour later, they all finished their meal and Hunter volunteered to do the washing up. Brook stayed with him to dry the dishes. Declan gave Sorah a sugar cube, like when he did the first time Hunter and Sorah first set foot into the house.

Sorah proceeded upstairs and into her room. Instead of going to her desk to draw, like she wanted to after dinner, she sat at the pillow of her bed and leaned her head against the misted window. The warmth of the summer had misted the glass, and her eyes wandered over the dark abyss of the wood. She remembered when she first came here, she hated the wood. The darkness inside of it when it was evening. Anything could be out there. But as she grew older and came to love animals, she wasn't so afraid anymore. Now she can easily handle the dark. She wasn't frightened of the wood or dark anymore. 

She steered her mind clear of that and got off the bed. On her desk she had her normal drawing pad and decided, because she couldn't get to sleep, what better way to spend her time drawing? She pulled her desk chair back and sat on it, taking out three pencils and laying them neatly straight on the right side with the rubber and sharpener on the left. All she ever drew in her art pad was mythical creatures and animals. She needed to be more original. In that case, she turned to the next clean page and started sketching out a wolf—something she had never seen before. She doesn't know why, it just felt right to sketch one.

 

* * *

 

 "You know you have a bed for a reason, Sorah."

She mumbled something inaudible and craned her neck to have it feel stiff and achy. For that, she collapsed back on her desk, hardly opening her eyes. In front of her, as expected, was blurry and hardly visible. 

"You know it's morning?"

"Mmm..." she hummed, raising her Hybrid-ears slightly, but they felt a bit too heavy this particular morning. 

"Come on, get up!"

Sorah said something is some German tongue before raising slowly and cracking her neck. That caused her to spasm for a second before arching her back and yawning.

"Bloody hell."

She turned and saw Brook. Where was Hunter?

"Vat the time?" She stifled another yawn.

"Ahh," Brook caught on after a moment and pulled up his sleeve, checking his watch. "8:46 a.m."

Sorah nodded before arching her back again. Her fangs felt achy this morning which made her groan and pin point where they were. Sure enough, they were wobbly. 

She muttered some spoken German again, unaware of what she was even saying herself.

"I have no idea what you are saying, but I'm assuming it's not good...." said Brook.

Sorah looked at him and smiled. "You should learn some German."

"Why?" said Brook, raising an eyebrow. "If we ever went to Germany, you and Hunter can be my own personal translator." 

Sorah rolled her shoulders and stood up, wobbling on her unsteady legs a bit. 

"Why do I needs to gets up?" she asked.

"We're going to Diagon Ally today. Pick up some stuff." He shrugged. "As you slept on your desk, you might wanna take a long and cold shower to wake yourself up."

Sorah nodded, not in the right waking state to argue.

Brook finally made his way out of her room, making sure to shut the door behind him, which she appreciated. There's nothing worse than leaving the door open. 

As Sorah grabbed some clothes for the shower, a tap at her window made her look up to see a small brown owl there with a small letter in its beak. Must be something from Millie or Levi, she thought. She dropped her clothes on her bed and crawled across it to open the window. The owl hooted, muffled by the letter and jumped to her shoulder. She gently pried the letter from it and started crawling across her bed again to her drawer. She pulled out a few Knuts and silver Sickles as appreciation for its work. It was a small owl after all. She placed them in a tiny box and tied it to the owl's leg. It nipped at her fluffy ear before hooting and flying out of the window. 

Forgetting about the letter, thinking to open it after the shower, she picked up her clothes and headed to the bathroom. 

The temperature was lukewarm to wake her up a bit more. Her neck and fangs still ached horribly but she ignored it. Her hair felt heavy, curling around her stuff shoulders when the water beat down on her. 

As soon as she had gotten out of the shower and changed, she went to her room again and went straight to the letter with her tail and hair still dripping. She knew she was getting her sheets changed that day so it didn't matter if the water hit the duvet. When she looked at the address on the envelope, she did not recognise the writing to be Millie's or Levi's. In fact, this writing looked a bit like Hunter's writing. It was small and neat. Not that Levi's or Millie's weren't neat, because they were. But the stereotype that boys hand writing is bad is not true because Hunter's is neat. Just like the letter here. It couldn't be from Hunter though. That would be silly. Slowly, she opened the letter and it was a normal A4 piece of paper with the same neat hand writing. Though, the paper itself looked dirty and unkempt. She also took notice that the writing wasn't English, but German. She read:

 

**_Dear Sorah-Bella,_ **

**_I am sorry I haven't had time to get back to you. It was a complete surprise to see you reach out to me. I'm more shocked that you even bothered. But, I can't say much, my dear. Give Hunter my love. I'm fine. And you're fine. I promise you._ **

**_Love, Papa._ **

 

Realisation hit her. It was Papa! Forgetting about everything in that moment, she bolted out of her room, letter clutched tight in her hands and jumped a few steps down the stairs, slipping a bit and running into the kitchen. There, Hunter, Becca and Brook were. Hunter looked up at Sorah, confused and she held out a letter.

"Papa!" she declared and he chocked on his Cheerios. Brook looked as confused as Becca did and Hunter quickly stood beside his sister, hope glinting in his eyes. His eyes skimmed the paper and he took it out of Sorah's hands; he kept on going over the words as of he was afraid it weren't true. That this was all a dream.

Finally, he looked at Sorah. "He es alive!" he said, a wide, dimpled grin showed on his features. "Papa es alive!" He wrapped his arms around Sorah's shoulders and took no notice of the fact her hair was soaking up the sleeve of his t-shirt. "Thet es amazing!"

Sorah giggled, burying her face in the crook of his neck. 

"Sorah," said Becca, firmly. "Dry your hair. You're dropping rain everywhere."

"She'll make it snow, soon," muttered Brook, smirking. 

Sorah took no notice before poking Hunter's right dimple and running back up the stairs to get ready, and hope that the events of this morning was enough to male the entire day a jovial day. 

 

* * *

 

 Today in Diagon Ally it wasn't that busy. Only in each shop were a dozen of wizards, witches and Hybrids. Sorah went into the Hybithian shop on the look out for the new Hypnosis book. 

Declan had mentioned on going to a shop on his own so Hunter, Brook and Sorah had time to wander around. Brook and Hunter bumped into one of their friends and chatted. Sorah took this opportunity to go into the Fifth Wing shop. In there stood the many broomsticks designed for a Hybrid. This was because of the tail of one, so it had a slightly different design. Sorah would love to do Quidditch. But because of an incident to do with non other than Hazel a year back, she no longer is allowed to play Quidditch. She was fairly good. It was probably the only sports she'd get involved in. And that's including the Muggle sports as well. She'd rather stay inside and read and write rather than do ... exercise. Too much effort. Unfortunately for her, the books she wanted were too high. The were in the third shelf. She could barley reach the second shelf, let alone the third. She felt happy when a hand reached up to get one but that Hybrid took it for themselves and didn't bother helping her with getting one.

Thinking quick, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the one thing she wanted, hoping she could just levitate the book towards her. That concentration didn't last long when she heard two, shrill and sickeningly sweet laughs. Turning her head and twitching her ears, none other than Hazel Martin and Zuri Jacobson. 

"I would have thought you'd grown at least a an inch or two by the last time we saw you."

Hazel strolled over, her red bracelet standing out on her wrist. Zuri followed behind her like a lost puppy, but with a grin on her face. Sorah could tell her braces still weren't off. 

Sorah lowered her ears and stood still, not making eye contact with the taller girls. She had grown. 

"Why are you so scared of us?" said Hazel, smirking smugly. 

Sorah said nothing. Where was Brook when you needed him?

"How's Levy and Miley? They not with you? Leaving you out?"

Sorah lowered her eyes. "It's Lee-vi and Millie and they aren't here..." she said, barely audible. 

"I can't hear you," Zuri spoke up, her blue braces now showing. 

Trying to ignore them, she turned back around and flicked her tail in an annoyed motion. It was awkward because she accidentally nicked Hazel on her cheek and she scowled at her. 

"Where's your freak of a brother?" asked Hazel, leaning her hips on the book case, arms crossed over her chest. 

"He's not a freak..." mumbled Sorah. She sighed. "Can you get thet for me?"

Hazel chuckled. "Really? Why would I get it for you? Maybe you should grow a little."

Hazel grabbed a book for herself and waved it in front of Sorah, mockingly. "This is a really great book, you know? It's good for our F.L.O.H. exams next year." She then put the book back. "Of course I've already gotten the book."

Sorah huffed quietly and lowered her Hybrid-ears flat against her head. She then proceeded to walk around Hazel, looking down but the she-Hybrid wouldn't budge out of the way. 

"Um, excuse me," said Sorah, tail now curling around her leg.

"Well, since you asked so nicely." Hazel surprised her by moving out of the way. But she shouldn't of been surprised for too long as when she had just gotten in front of her, Hazel tripped her and she fell on the ground. 

The two girls laughed and Sorah pushed herself up again and half ran half walked out of the shop. Outside there stood Hunter and Brook. They were laughing about something, about to walk into the shop when they saw Sorah. 

"Hallo," said Hunter. "I thoughtsss you v-vv-went to gets a book," he said, cocking his head to the side. His curls fell heavily, in desperate need of a trim.

"Brook," said Sorah, "cans you helps gets zay book off shelf?"

Brook chuckled. "Of course. Lead the way."

That's how Sorah ended up in the shop again. But this time, when Hazel and Zuri were about to charge over to her, they didn't upon seeing the tall figure of Brook. Immediately, they whispered, glaring at Sorah and turning away and out of the shop. 

Brook helpfully grabbed Sorah's book and a bunny plushie for her; they paid and finished with the shop. They then went for Pumpkin juice and Brook brought him and Hunter a new journal. 

"Aren't you g-gons to take zat off?" said Hunter, wiping his mouth. "It's very hot here."

Brook had a coat and bronze and blue scarf on. Hunter had said it was their houses (Ravenclaw) scarf. 

"It's cold outside," said Brook with a shrug. 

"August es nearly over." Sorah raised an eyebrow at them. 

"Exactly." Brook ducked his head, drinking form the white straw. 

After everything was collected, they went back home and prepared for the next day. Levi sent an owl to Sorah saying they'd meet her by the train to Hybithia. She didn't bother replying. It wouldn't get there on time. 

Sorah lazily poured out the night to do some reading and last minute packing. Now that her room looked to be in good use of being empty, she let herself relax, closed her bedroom door. She opened the new book she had brought that day, and read for most of the evening, soon falling asleep.


	5. ❀Hybithia❀

This would be the fourth time ever that Sorah is standing in front of the Hybithian Express, ready to start a brand new year. It was a bit nerve wrecking. Her body shook with the nerves. Students and others bustling around her. Her fingers nervously tapped her luggage, always having a burst of anxiety before starting a new school year. 

"Alright, Sorah?"

She turned to see Millie, who's smile was maybe a bit forced, her grey eyes more tedious than normal. On the plus side, her skin looked more tanned, giving a more healthier look. 

Sorah only nodded, her breathing now slowly becoming more casual. She was sure the burning on her cheeks created a deep flush.

"Where's your Dad?" said Millie. "Isn't he supposed to be here?"

Sorah pushed back her ears, making it exposed to the wind and bent. "He had to leave the shard early."

Millie understood. "Where's Levi?"

Before Millie could even stutter a word, there came Levi, her hair in neat French plaits. 

"I'm here, fellow Hybrid!" she beamed, swinging on the back of her feet. 

As soon as they had their luggage taken, they hopped onto the train and without much further thought, entered the first carriage they saw was empty. Sorah sat down with a huffed sigh, and Millie stretched out her legs, yawning. 

"You're tired," commented Levi.

"Ye~eah," said Millie, mid yawn. "Brother kept me up most of the night."

Sorah frowned. "How is he? Has he still got that thing?"

"Cancer?" said Millie. "Yup. They can't seem to get rid of it." The compartment went quiet. "But I'm sure he'll be fine."

Sorah smiled lightly. Then she came with a question that she had been wanting to ask Millie, since Levi had flat teeth. "Are your fangs okay?" she asked curiously. 

Millie opened her mouth and touched her right fang. It gave a dangerous jolt. "It's gonna fall out soon."

"What's it like having fangs?" asked Levi. 

"A pain," grumbled Millie. 

Levi raised an eyebrow.

"I'm being serious," said Millie. "At the moment, they dig into your bottom lip.'

"What about when you get new ones?" said Levi, shifting so she was more comfortable.

The train started up and soon they were off on a twelve hour journey. 

"They'll dig into your bottom lip for a while," said Millie. "But then they don't. Sometimes you'll have an over bite and they'll be noticeable. That's when the Hybrility community have to take care of them and push them back. You'd be incredibly unlucky to get an over bite."

"You heard this from your Mum?" said Levi and Millie nodded. She turned to Sorah again. "What about your two front teeth?"

Sorah ran her tongue over them but they didn't jolt like her fangs do, indicating that they still have yet to fall out.

"That's really unlucky," said Millie, her kitten ears twitching. 

Declan himself has tried to mend Sorah's teeth problem but the two front teeth just won't come out. In her earlier years all her baby teeth fell out. All but her two front ones. And now it's getting a bit of a pain because the gap in her teeth is ridiculously big. It's not a good look for her—especially at thirteen. It didn't help with her open-bite either from constantly sucking her thumb. 

"Do you want anything to eat?" offered Levi, pulling out some sickles. "I'm hungry. Might as well get something."

"A brunch?" Millie chuckled a bit. "I'm up for it."

The lady with the trolley of many treats came around, and Levi and Millie ordered a few. Sorah honestly was not in the mood for any treats, so she curled herself up into the far corner of her seat. She leaned her head against the window, arms going across her chest in a cross motion to warm herself up. The glass against her head was cold and misted from the early morning. Although it is now late morning, it still remained. 

"Hey, Sorah?" Millie clicked her fingers in front of the Hybrid'd face. "Want a Pumpkin Pasty?"

Sorah gratefully took it and ate it even slower than she normally does; she was trying to ignore the fact that she was visibly shaking and a cold sweat had broken out. But Millie smiled nonetheless and didn't bother her. 

Levi offered her some chocolate milkshake and the train ride was back to normal. Why was it that good had to always be the answer? 

Matter of the doubt: food fixes all of your problems. 

Half way to Hybithia, Millie and Levi had fallen asleep. Levi had the History of Hogwarts (which her parents gave her) out in front of her as she had laid on the entire seat. Millie had her head against the misty window, coat pulled up as a warm cover. Sorah sat beside Millie and had her sketch pad out, drawing random doodles onto one page. She ended up drawing a small horse and a kitten on its head. She smiled, knowing her hand guided her to draw Levi and Millie as their natural animal form. She wonders briefly when it would be to finally turn into their animals. Normally it would be happening in fifth year, but because Hybrid's like Levi and Sorah have moved up a year, she wondered whether they'd be doing it when fifth year were to come. If only she knew what Hybrid she was. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

As this thought occurred to her, she placed the art pad down next to Millie and shifted a bit. The long, furry tail laying beside her was down to her ankles, with the roots a cinnamon brown, leading more towards a lighter, mousy brown colour to an shy blonde. This was the same of her dog-shaped ears that sat past her fringe point. The fur and her hair were not the exact same colours. As her tail and ears were a brown go an ashy blonde, the rest of her hair had cinnamon brown roots, to mousy brown hair. If you were to ask a Muggle, they would think she had just dyed her hair blonde and was in no way bothering to sort of her down roots. It was weirdly her natural hair colour—that is Hybrid logic for you. It was the same with Levi's ginger hair and naturally pink and blue tips at the ends of her curls and ears. Although, during time, Sorah's hair will eventually get darker and darker until it remains the soft, mousy brown colour. It was a slow working progress. 

Declan explained that her natural hair is a mousy-brown but once hit by sunlight and staying there long, it slowly fades to blonde; thus, making her hair a soft cream/ashy blonde. To add to that, she had natural curly, ringleted hair with a fringe. Not like Hunter's hair, which was a sandy brown, also very curly. He said something about the Wizarding world to copy the Muggle community to invent something that 'fixes' curly hair. Sorah couldn't remember the name of it. 

Her eyes were the pools and colours of the sunny sea. The hint of light shone in the turquoise colours and her eyes drooped down to give a sort or dopey look. In real light, a flaw could be seen within her iris, with the hints of fading grey.

Freckles littered her upper nose and cheeks (under her eyes) and dimples dented her cheeks. Not only at the corners of her mouth, but there were two dents (not so visible) on her cheek bones. Declan had called them dimples as well. Levi had these small dents just under her eyes.

At the height of barley 5'2, she was one of the smallest in her year. Embarrassingly enough some 1st years were taller than her. Sorah and Levi were the same height and Millie was just over 5'3. Millie said that she knew Sorah would grow more, but she wasn't so sure about Levi. 

Sorah had never once found herself observing closer into her body in front of a mirror. She had heard many other do this; when they reach their teenage years, their hormones fly on a scale of 100, sky-rocketing above their average emotional level. This made teenagers very difficult to deal with. She knew for a fact her brother felt incredibly insecure with how he looked. He detested his curly hair for starters. Sorah never found that with herself. She was actually quite happy with how she looked. There was nothing she felt to be insecure herself. By no means was she vain, but she couldn't find it in herself to worry with how she looked. It was not important to her. Yes, she did make an effort to keep her curls tamed and occasionally would put the littlest of makeup on—nothing after that. Not to the extent that Levi or Hunter worried.

"You know you're thinking too hard..."

Sorah slowly turned her head towards Levi's voice. Her friend looked drowsy from sleep and her normal wavy hair a curly mess.

"How?" said Sorah, her sweet spoken voice it's usual quiet self.

Levi shivered a bit at the coldness of the compartment before recollecting herself and sitting up. "You make this face if you're thinking too hard. Ears flat, tail rigid and staring off into oblivion ... What are you thinking about?"

"Nothin' much..." Her accent was thick within the pressure of her throat.

"You can tell me," said Levi, seemingly hesitant to say it. "You know ... for best friends, you keep an awful lot to yourself."

Sorah's heart dropped. Levi was right. She kept so much to herself. Levi nor Millie know about her relationship between her and her real parents. About how she feels about Brook and Hunter being a little too close. How sometimes her anxiety makes her feel so depressed and lonely sometimes. Her inability to feel at ease when around new people or around crowded places. Her constant worry a family relative or friend of her's will be seriously hurt if she does not keep everything in chronological order? And what do Levi and Millie do? They await her answers. They tell her everything. Sorah knows what is on their minds most of the time. 

Levi used to stop eating because she was anxious about her body image and the way she looked. It was still sometimes like that. She hardly ever slept because nightmares threatened to drown her into nothingness most nights. She has panic attacks. She's seems so sad sometimes but still manages to smile for everyone. 

Millie's family is run with cancer. Her little brother is possibly dying. She takes the worst from Hazel to protect Levi and Sorah. 

And what does Sorah tell them in return? Nothing. She keeps her feelings hidden up. She's what you call an introvert. But surly you'd share these kind of of things with your best friends—who have been with you through the pain and laughter. No. Sorah won't. And it will be a long time before she really opens up. 

After all of this time, Sorah did not answer Levi and kept her head straight, staring out the window of the train. The sky was slowly getting darker and things were quieting down. Nighttime was Sorah's favourite part of the cycle around the word. 

Levi smiled a bit, eyes twinkling. "Remember, Millie and I are here for you." She yawned quietly and rubbed at her eyes. She closed her book that was spread open from when she fell asleep the first time. Tiredly, the she-Hybrid curled into a ball and dozed back off to sleep.

"I know." Sorah whispered, feeling guilt eating at the edge of her. 

 

* * *

 

 "Sorah~ Levi~ we're here!"

Sorah opened her eyes to the blinding light in the compartment. Millie held Sorah's right hand, dragging it away from her mouth before making her stand. Sorah balanced herself before she focused her eyes on Millie's soft-smiling face. Levi was still comfortably asleep.

"Levi! Wake-y, wake-y, rise and shine!" chirped Millie, beginning to shake their friend. Levi moaned something about rainbows and then stretched. "What was that about rainbows?" Millie giggled.

"Still haven't found the pot of gold," grumbled Levi, now fully waking up.

Sorah smiled, dimples showing and chucked her shoulder bag over her shoulder.

"Come on," said Millie. "We're going to be late."

Levi sleepily placed Hogwarts: a History back in her bag and then they were all out of the compartment. Students were filling out and to the three Hybrids disappointment; Hazel and her gang were behind. Sorah stayed at the back on purpose to not cause a scene. Only because if Hazel said something, Millie would fight back and Levi would give Hazel and her tribe a glare that meant death and 'assault' to Hazel. 

As Millie and Levi stepped off the train, Sorah following close behind them, Hazel shot past her, making sure to give her a rough shove in the process. It was not necessary.

"Come on! Out of the way and keep up!" she sneered, making sure to tweak Sorah's Hybrid-ears.

The rest then pushed past her, smirking. Then out came Zuri. 

"You're really being a doormat right now," she stated simply, pulling on a loose strand of blonde hair before walking off to Hazel. 

Sorah's ears flattened at the obvious comment. It wasn't as if she did it on purpose.

"Ignore them, Sorah," said Levi, taking Sorah's hand. "Come on. I'm hungry."

Sorah nodded and Millie led the way. This was a sight they were familiar with.

The Hybithian Express dropped them off only a dozen meters away from the Hybithia gates. Once inside and shut, you were met with several tall and ancient looking buildings. Now, it may not look very pretty on the outside, but the inside definitely made up for it. This was made to look a bit creepy for any trespassing Muggles. And the forest beyond would freak any human out. A sign was bewitched in a Muggle's mind to say, "Danger Up Ahead" when in a wizard, witch or Hybrids' eye said "Hybithia; School of Hybrids".

"Home sweet home," said Millie. 

The three followed behind the crowed and were greeted with the smiling faces of newborns. Hybrids that have just joined 1st Year of Hybrility. It's not uncommon for a Hybrid to form magic whilst under the 1st Year trance, but this is where they learn to hide and control what they have. Just like being a wizard or witch. Expect Hybrids decide on a name. Which they decided newborns. 

"You sure about sweet?" said Levi, raising her eyebrows. "I wouldn't even call it home."

Sorah placed a hand on Levi's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. Levi smiled in appreciation and the three girls walked through the gates of their school. 

"Newborns, please follow me!"

Sorah's ears twitched at the voice. The voice of Cujo Brandaze. Cujo Brandaze was a tall, 8th Year Hybrid with perfect golden brown eyes and wavy blondish hair. He had a blue Head Boy badge secured at his uniform collar and the newborns accepted their fate, following his intimidating figure.

Sorah's heart rate picked up automatically upon seeing Cujo. A deep blush settled across her cheeks. She ducked her head before he could look over.

"Let's go in," Millie's voice brought her back to reality. "It's a chilly September evening. And I'm hungry."

Sorah timidly followed behind her two friends, keeping a close eye on every moving shadow and different voice—whether they were from her head or just spoken out loud by other students. 

A lot of students, including themselves, were not dressed in their uniforms and had left on their everyday outfits on. Sorah then realised that they had not been informed to change on the train. She wondered why. But that was soon explained when she overheard some kids gossiping about Professor Holden not making it to Hybithia that certain day. It made Sorah feel on edge. One less teacher? Hybithia is less safe ... Plus, other than the Headmaster, Professor Cadwell, Sorah was quite close to Professor Holden. She helped her with various things that she found difficult and seemed to always be up for helping any troubled student.

"Are you gonna eat anything, Sorah?"

Again, Sorah was brought back to reality when she saw Millie and Levi staring at her, waiting for a response.

Sorah stared down at her empty plate. What happened? Had Professor Cadwell already finished with his 'welcoming back' speech? He must have done. 

"Earth to Sorah-Bella?"

A pale hand was waved in front of her face and she gently took the hand and put it down. The opponent was Levi, obviously, because she has really pale skin. Her glasses were a bit crooked on her face and Sorah reached over, correcting them. A blush coated Levi from embarrassment, muttering to herself about how long she had had her glasses that way. 

"I'm gonna eat," mumbled Sorah, picking out at the food in front of her. "Didn't realise he stop speakin'..."

"You're lisping badly." Sorah doesn't know why Millie just decided to bring up an insecurity about Sorah. She flicked her tail in agitation to show to the kitten-Hybrid she was not comfortable with Millie talking like that. "No, it's okay. I'm just saying when you lisp that badly something's bothering you."

Levi looked up from her meal she was currently enjoying. Sorah finds it amazing that Hybrid's like them could eat some meat. Levi's a pescatarian, so she won't eat any meat but fish. Sorah loved basically all meat as well as Millie. But sometimes she'll look at some of the Hybrid's around her and she's pretty sure some of them are half of what they are eating right at that moment. The thought made Sorah shiver slightly. She hesitantly picked up a chicken leg, some vegetables, potatoes and pigs in blankets. She loved roasts so much, and being a meat lover was just the start of it. Any animal lover like her can eat meat. Doesn't mean anything. 

They all took their sweet, slow time eating dinner in attempt to avoid anyone who would be going up to their dorm rooms. The common room was what Sorah mostly looked forward to—with the warm fire, comfy sofa's and books everywhere. As soon as they did finish, they were on their way to the dorms.

"Millicent!" 

All three girls turned to see five other Hybrids strolling over to where they were sitting. They were Millie's other friends. It wasn't that Levi and Sorah didn't talk to them, they just felt as if they were always intruding when they hang with Millie. Though they made it clear they did not mind Levi and Sorah there with them, every Hybrid had their own group. Levi and Sorah were not apart of it.

"Hey Greyson," said Millie, high-fiving him. Greyson gave a light smile to Levi and Sorah before turning back to Millie.

Greyson, Lilian, Rose, Ashton and Flora were within the group. All were different types of Hybrid's and it was quite the group to see. Greyson was a Hybrid-pixie, Lilian a dove, Rose a lamb, Ashton a tiger and Flora was a cheater. 

"You going back to the dorm already?" Greyson said, leaning his elbow on Lilian's shoulder. 

"Well, we don't have to," shrugged Millie, looking back at her two friends. "Wanna come?"

"Where you going?" asked Levi, a little uncomfortable.

Greyson must of sensed their reluctance so he spoke up, removing his elbow from Lilian's shoulder. "It's okay. You can come with us. Don't worry about the others."

Sorah looked at Levi and Levi just nodded, head down, once again adjusting her glasses. 

"Come on then."

Levi and Sorah awkwardly followed suit, making sure to stay a fair distance behind Millie and her friends. 

"May I ask," started Sorah, "where's Evan?'

Sorah felt a sense of worry radiating from Levi at the mention of her twins name. Then it died off with a light shimmer.

"I'm sure he's somewhere," said Levi. "He went off with Rachel and that."

"Isn't Rachel mean to him?"

Levi sighed, shaking her head. Her plaits were a bit frizzed up now, much like Sorah's hair was at this moment. It has been a long day.

"She's always been a female dog," said Levi. "Literally."

Sorah giggled. Rachel was a dog-Hybrid after all. Well, she claims she's a 'dog-demon' but who believes her? No one. Sorah was sure dog-demons didn't even exist. Plus, she's friends with Hazel. And she claims she's Japanese. It may be rare for Japanese people to 'have' bright blue eyes and to not know how to speak their own language, but apparently she's from there. Sorah rolls her eyes every time Rachel brings up some crap like that

Levi and Sorah kept walking behind the group of six. Sorah couldn't help but smile at how happy Millie was with them. It wasn't that Millie wasn't happy with Levi and Sorah, but even the two she-Hybrid's could tell Millie would rather be with ~~The~~  six than them two.

The lights around the halls of Hybithia seemed to glow and outline all of them. That's when Sorah realised it was nothing to do with the lights. It was the fact they were a source of light. They were meant to stick together.

Professor Cadwell had made a comment about them. 

"They could make a pact," mumbled Levi, looking at the light glow around the group of friends. 

Sorah's heart sank. The feeling of sadness crept up on her like prey. It hurt her. She kept her mouth shut and carefully took a big step and out into the chilly night. Millie and her friends ran off into the open and started laughing, sitting on the side stones a few metres away. 

Levi grabbed hold of Sorah's wrist and dragged her the opposite side of the group. They say atop of a stone wall, watching the clouds within the dark sky move slowly southwards. Sighing, Levi leaned her back against the wall, pulling her sleeves over hands to make sweater-paws, much like Sorah does all the time.

"I wonder if we'll ever send up like them," said Levi, "with friends like them. People who we can finally trust and be ourselves." And it wasn't as if they didn't trust Millie. She was the only other Hybrid they did trust. But Millie wasn't apart of what they would call a 'pact'. "It has to happen." She turned to face Sorah. The other didn't look back, purposely avoiding Levi's gaze. "I've never seen in any book of a Hybrid left behind. It'll come one day, won't it?"

Sorah again didn't say anything. She didn't doubt for a second that it would never happen. All Hybrids start a pact with someone, whether it be a group of Hybrids, wizards/witches or Muggles. They're all equal in some way, after all. 

They both looked over to see the group of Hybrids smiling brightly and whirling their hands around in a gesture that could only symbolise them making magic. Millie's dark green glow made a noise and the others joined in.

Sorah pulled her knees to her chest, careful to avoid the wobbling of her two fangs. It wasn't major—just a little bit of pain. So she lent her chin atop of right knee, eyes glazed over from being so tired. She then smiled, dimples on show at the group. They were so happy. The air around them gradually grew merrier and a beat and tune of music lightened the atmosphere around them. It was quiet, yet loud enough to be heard by the eight out there. The wind blew past Levi and Sorah, and that signalled for them to leave. They would leave Millie with her friends. After all, it's not their group of friends. They needed to make their own.


	6. ❀The Hypnosis Game❀

The blinding light through the window's is what awoke Sorah the next morning. Neither her or the others in the dorm bothered to blind the windows. Then again, it was the start of a school day. There was no point in doing that.

"Can you pass me that?"

The voice of Millie reached Sorah's folded ears and she turned over, accidentally pulling on her tail. She hissed slightly and tears built up at the edge of her eyes at the slightest move of her fangs. Slowly, she sat up and stretched her tail to rid of the strain she felt building up in it. 

"Morning, sleepy-head," chimed Millie, pulling on Sorah's left Hybrid-ear. "We've got at least twenty minutes to get ready."

"Levi?" whispered Sorah and Millie almost didn't hear it.

"Oh, she's in the bathroom, showering," said Millie, being chucked a blue blazer by the other she-Hybrid in the room. "Thank you, Emilie."

"You're welcome," the other girl grunted and pulled on her blue bracelet to its right position.

Sorah smiled, thinking the blue really suited Emilie. She's got confidence and intelligence, mixed with faith and trust. 

"C'mon, Sorah-Bella, you're the last one up," said Emilie with a light smile. 

Sorah ignored the full name and reluctantly got up and stretched some more before getting changed into her uniform. Her white bracelet was pressing uncomfortably tight against her wrist and when she went to adjust it, she found the spark inside of it was moving. This made no sense because she wasn't using magic. Heck, she wasn't even trying to read someone's mind because that is something you should never do first thing in the morning, unless you are a highly levelled-up Hybrid.

She decided she would ask Levi about it later. Any book that Levi has read, she'll know the answer to. Levi's probably one of the most intelligent Hybrids out there; every Hybrid has their very own special talent. Sorah has yet to discover her's. Levi discovered her's a long time ago. Sorah wasn't sure what it was called, but everything that Levi has ever seen, heard or read is perfectly secured into her brain. Sorah is surprised Levi hasn't been moved up a year.

"Hey, Sorah, you're awake," said Levi, coming into the room, hair in its normal curly state and uniform neat. "Ready to start the school year?"

"Nein," said Sorah and Emilie giggled.

"It's so awesome you don't come from Britain."

Sorah flushed and gave a dimpled smile before going into the bathroom. There she leaned against the sink and looked at herself straight in the eyes. Her pupils dilated then retracted again. The first thing she needed to do was shower. Normally she'd have one in the evening, but she didn't have one last night so she didn't feel very hygienic at that very moment. 

After she came out the shower she put on her uniform and adjusted her bracelet. It wasn't sparking anymore but it left a tingling feeling running up her arm. She let her hair dry naturally and prayed to God that her fringe wouldn't curl up so much today. She straightened her fringe every morning other wise it would just curl up, but this time she didn't have enough time.

"Hurry up, Sorah, its nearly breakfast time!" called Levi. 

Sorah shook out the last droplets in her hair, fluffed out her tail, wagging it, spraying water droplets everywhere. As soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, Levi came over and lit a fire within her palms, mumbling a silent spell to ignite the light in her hands. Slowly, she ran the fire across Sorah's shivering tail and Emilie and Millie watched in awe. 

"How can you do that?" asked Emilie, eyes alight with amazement. "I'm so jealous."

Levi only smiled to herself and soon enough, Sorah's tail were all dry and tidy. Sorah smiled and gave her the sign for 'thank you' and quickly grabbed her shoulder bag. The four girls made their way down the stairs into the 4th years common room. 

Emilie said her goodbyes and Millie stuck by Levi and Sorah. 

"You don't have to hang out with us," said Levi, stroking past her left pony-ear. In her other hand she gripped tightly at Hogwarts: A History. Some Hybrid's gave her a glare of disgust as they waited for their friends. 

Levi looked away, a blush on her face and covering up the title of the book.

Millie chuckled at Levi. "Nah. I may have other friends, but you guys are apart of that as well. Besides, I don't wanna leave you alone."

Sorah knew exactly what she meant and folded her ears back self-consciously. Before Levi could say anything, a boy with dark brown hair, one brown eye and one cloudy blue eye came bounding over, a Hypnosis book in his arms.

"Hullo, Evan," said Millie.

"Hey, Evan," said Levi, hugging her brother when he reached out for one. Sorah felt a gutted feeling at the thought of her brother. She very much hoped that her brother was doing alright. With this she looked up at the ceiling and memorised the many, pretty stars eliminating the room. 

"Hey, Sorah," Levi spoke gently, holding Sorah's wrist. "We're gonna go to breakfast now. You coming?"

Sorah twitched her ears and thought for a moment. She didn't know why she had to think about it, but she did. She will go: food is the most important thing to her right at this moment. She then nodded and smiled at Evan who waved a small goodbye, going over to his little group of friends. Levi let go of Sorah's wrist and the three girls made their way down to the Main Hall.

There were already a bunch of students eating and Sorah felt her stomach churn. This was coming out of her comfort zone. 

She felt a light push and Sorah felt her feet move. She followed behind Millie and Levi, keeping a hand on Levi's galaxy backpack. As soon as they sat down, Sorah picked out some toast and kept a lean eye on Levi, not feeling to out of her depth anymore.

Levi had the same as Sorah—just plain, simple butter on toast. Millie had some cereal and orange juice. 

"Levi, aren't you going to eat anymore?"

That sentence shook Sorah out of her worried thoughts and looked over to see Levi had only eaten one piece of toast before resuming back to her book. The she-Hybrid looked up and nodded a little, then going back to reading. Millie exchanged a glance with Sorah and Sorah finally spoke.

"Please eat some more, Levi," she pleaded quietly. Luckily, Levi heard and gave Sorah a guilty look. It hit Sorah hard. She looked so reluctant to eat the last piece. 

Levi sighed shakily and picked up the last peace of toast. Sorah felt her heart lighten and the fact Levi had listened. Sorah nor Millie wanted to pressure Levi into anything but the fact is: Levi's only going to get better if they make sure she eats three square meals a day. 

Levi seemed to do a lot more when Sorah finally talks. It's not often you hear Sorah speak. 

"Come on," said Millie suddenly.

Sorah must have dozed off for a bit because she felt a bit woozy. She looked to see that Levi had indeed eaten her last peace of toast. She immediately felt happier.

"What have we got first?" queried Levi, searching through her bag for her timetable. Millie did the same and Sorah followed suit. Students were now running out of the hall to get to class. Did the bell go as well? How long had Sorah been out of it?

"First is History," said Levi with excitement laced within her voice. "I wonder what new topics we'll be learning about this year."

Millie giggled at Levi's excitement. "I think they said something about past wars ... the very first Hybrid and Wizard war! That's it!"

Levi's face lightened up just a tad more. "That's so awesome! I can't wait to learning. Although, I've already done a lot of studying—"

Sorah didn't have time to process what Levi was saying before she felt something by her right foot and the next thing she knew, she was face down on the hard, wooden floor. Laughter bounced off the walls and insults were thrown.

Two pairs of hands were around both her arms and she jerked violently. When seeing it was only Millie and Levi, she let herself be pulled up and saw the culprit was none other than Hazel herself.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings, you filthy mongrel."

Millie scoffed. "Do you even know what a mongrel is?"

Hazel's face turned into a scowl, as if Millie speaking to her was something incredibly offensive. "So what if I don't?"

Sorah felt Levi stifle a laugh behind her closed mouth and other students then started to realise what Hazel had just said. Some laughed and shook their heads.

"It's what you are!" laughed Millie. "It's what all of us are! Half-breeds!"

More laughter filled the hall.

"Sorah."

The Hybrid saying her name was Levi, and she turned to her, asking with her eyes what was up. Levi only sighed and they all walked away from the others. Sorah just felt extra tired this morning, that's why the space and noises around her were blurry and a bit disorientated. 

There was another echoing of laughter behind them and Sorah felt herself being dragged out of the hallway and towards their next class. After that encounter, Sorah began to loosen herself from her friends grip. If they thought she was having some kind of panic attack, they were very much mistaken. She never has them. Had no reason to. She was just feeling out of the sorts, so there was really no need for them to worry about her. She may get anxious sometimes, but not so bad that she had to have help.

"Are you okay now?"

Millie was beside her, hand on her shoulder. Sorah nodded and smiled in appreciation, still feeling a little dizzy. Millie smiled and they all went into the History classroom. Some students were already there and were already getting all of their needed equipment. 

"Sorah, over here."

Looking around, she followed Millie's voice and found herself sitting near the back of the classroom. She mentally cursed herself for not putting on her glasses. She just thanked God she wasn't like Levi or Hunter who was neither long nor short sighted. Meaning they couldn't see up close or far away. It still created a bit of a problem, however. 

"You can't see, can you?" said Levi with an amused smile on her face. When Sorah shook her head in embarrassment, Levi only laughed. "Don't worry. You can copy down my notes."

Sorah thanked her silently and grabbed her quill and ink. The books were handed out straight away when everyone else was in the room. 

Their teacher, Professor Walker, smiled at her class as soon as everyone had quietened down. 

"I hope you all had splendid holidays," she beamed and most students gave a little groan back. "Stupendous. We won't be doing anything major today. All I want you to do is write your name on your booklet and I will go over a few rules. At this moment, I will be delighted to ask you a few questions about the subjects we are going to be talking over."

Sorah tensed, wrapping her tail around the leg of her chair. Her ears fluttered twice before Levi nudged in a haste saying calm down. 

"Do any of you know anything about the civil war between the Hybrids and Wizards?"

Sorah smiled slightly at Levi's hand shooting straight up in the air. Typical Levi.

"Yes, Amori," pointed the teacher, also smiling. Professor Walker's obvious favourite student was Levi. 

"It began in 1797 and ended in 1801," said Levi, a proud smile on her face. "It was said that the Minister at the time brought it upon themselves and were asking for a civil war."

"That is correct," nodded Professor Walker. "How about we write these notes down—chop chop!"

Students opened up their book and started jotting down notes. 

Sorah tightened her wrap around the chair leg and felt the odd pressure on her wrist building up on her arm again. Distracted by this, she abandoned her notes and stared at the white sparkles inside the bracelet. It felt as if the bracelet was too tight and squeezing at her wrist. It hurt. 

"Are you okay?" Levi leaned over to whisper to Sorah. 

Sorah jumped back and nodded. She moved her arm and made a sweater paw with her hand so no one could see the weird experiences happening weighing her bracelet. She wondered whether they were ever going to learn about the history of the charm bracelet's. Call her boring but it fascinates her. 

"As most Hybrids have learned, we do not give up without a fight," continued Professor Walker, scribbling down points on the blackboard. "We aren't sweet creatures, per say."

Sorah didn't bother to look. No wonder her grades were so low in history. Or in any other subject for that matter.

"Abernot, Minister of the Hybrids at the time, never wanted a war, did he?" a student right at the front raised his hand. "It was said he encouraged a lot of the wizards back then to not fight."

"Yes," said Professor Walker, adding the little piece of information to the board. She then turned back around. Most of the students heads were up in interest. She just happened to look over at the back to see Sorah glaring intently at her wrist. "Stylan, is it?" Sorah jumped and suddenly all eyes were on her. Ears lowered, tail within a death grip on the chair leg, she nodded slowly, eyes trained just past the Professor's eyes. "Could you tell us anything interesting about the civil war?" 

The room became almost tense and unbearable.

"Professor." A student in front of them had a sly smirk on his face. "She can't speak." He turned around to sneer at Sorah. "Clearly her parents didn't teach her proper English." 

The class let out faint hiss of laughter and Sorah let her head fall on her crossed arms, trying to block them out. 

"Shut up, Louis," seethed Millie, fangs out. "At least she has a brain, unlike a lot of Hybrids in this class."

Professor Walker spoke up. "That's enough, class. She doesn't have to answer if she doesn't want to."

Sorah just found it easier not to talk. It kept everyone's minds at bay. She wasn't the only quiet person in the whole world after all. She even knew a few other Hybrids who were naturally quiet in classes.

The rest of the class carried on. It was too slow in Sorah's case. She spent the entire time looking at Levi's notes and writing them down as slowly as she possibly could. It would save her time. Millie kept quiet and worked whilst Levi kept giving Sorah reassuring smiles. 

Once they were on their way out of class, Louis and a couple of his friends pushed at Sorah purposely and snickered, pulling on Sorah's Hybrid-ears. Millie pushed Louis back and hissed at them to leave Sorah alone. 

The next lesson wasn't anything interesting. It was just Astronomy—which Sorah had no idea why she had taken it. Hunter said it would be an interesting subject to take. Then again, Hunter was actually good at Astronomy. Sorah could be good at it if she payed any attention to it. She just found it incredibly boring. 

Luckily for her, Millie would be with her whilst Levi trotted off to her other lesson. 

"Don't listen to those jerks, alright?" fretted Millie, grabbing hold of Sorah's small, warm hand.

Sorah only nodded. 

Within the depths of the classroom, they both followed down to the carpet which was covered by dark purple blankets and white, glittering stars spaced between them. Students were already there, looking around in awe, since it was a new room for the fourth years. Millie's grey eyes shone with admiration and sat down, leaving a space for Sorah. Students shuffled away when Sorah approached and Sorah unwrapped her tail from her leg, sitting down next to Millie.

"You okay?" asked Millie, turning her head to look at the shaking Hybrid. "You can tell me."

Sorah knew this was Millie's way of trying to make her speak—but it wasn't going to work. 

"Tell you what, wanna go back to the routine we had back in first and second year?" Millie suggested and Sorah turned her head in the slightest. "Milk and honey before bed."

Millie was hoping for a small and timid yes but all she got was the nod of Sorah's head. Then she thought; of course! It was a yes or no answer. _Stupid._

She didn't push it, but smiled nevertheless. 

It wasn't until break time that fourth year students started buzzing with excitement. Millie dragged Sorah into the mists of her group. 

"What's next on your timetable?" said Millie, smiling widely.

Greyson took one look at Sorah and quickly looked away as soon as she looked his way. She kept her head down, drawing closer to Millie. 

"Can you believe it!" beamed Lilian. "We've got Hypnosis!"

Ashton punched the air in excitement, his tail wrapped around a quill. "Now this is what I've been excited about for fourth year!" 

"Yes!" beamed Flora. "I bet it's gonna be exceptionally exciting!"

"Exceptionally exciting?" Rose laughed. "Exceptionally? Don't act posh, Flora."

Flora shoved Rose playfully. "Shut up."

Soon enough, it was time for them to go and Sorah aimlessly followed behind the group of six. Millie kept looking back and smiling, swishing her tail to signal to Sorah. Sorah only nodded in response and pulled her arms around her. It wasn't long until they were around the hypnosis classrooms she had a tug on tail. She snatched it back and turned around, only to find Rachel

"Hazel told me she wanted to see you," said she, blue eyes blazing with boredom.

Sorah said nothing, and merely nodded her head, but made no move to follow the slightly shorter Hybrid. 

"Talk, you freak," hissed Rachel. "Hazel wants to see you—"

"Fuck off, Rachel!" Millie was suddenly by Sorah's side. "Come on. Get a grip." Dragging her away, Millie gave Rachel the finger whilst shouting, "Weaboo freak!" 

"Filthy blood traitor!" Rachel yelled.

In any way, Millie was as bad as Rachel, but Sorah didn't say anything.

As soon as they reached the doors of their classroom, Levi ran up to Sorah and hugged her. Sorah hugged back, tensing a bit but relaxing. 

"I can't wait for this!" squealed Levi. "Just imagine hypnotising someone! We Hybrid's have all the power!"

Lilian laughed. "Whoa, Levi, slow your horses—"

"Pun totally intended!" said Ashton.

"You've got the power, haven't you?" said Rose and Levi giggled. 

"Please, stand in line!" a booming, loud voice sounded from the front and Sorah hid behind Levi, despite being the tiniest bit taller than her. The voice belonged to Professor Abner, the Hypnosis teacher. He was said to be incredibly strict and mean. All you needed to do was get on his good side and you'd be fine. Sorah had a feeling he'd be a bit impatient with her.

"Thank you!" he said. "Now, I want you all to enter the classroom slowly and quietly. It's to not disturb certain objects in the room."

Students started to chatter excitedly. 

"Silence," said Professor Abner. "The point in practising to Hypnotising is to be in a quiet and well collected room. This is your time to show what you can do, fellow Hybrids. Follow me."

Students were quiet when entering the classroom. It held spells of magic about the lanterns, the only source of light being from the lights themselves. The room was warm and held the smell of a log fire. 

"Please sit down."

It reminded Sorah of Astronomy. Sitting down on the plush cushions, warm fires dotted around this place. It was beautiful. The silent chatter gradually became louder.

"Quiet," said Professor Abner in a much softer tone. "First of all, we need to talk about certain rules and conditions." He made his way in format of the students and sat down himself, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. He took a deep breath in and then out. "Have any of you seen a Hybrid hypnotise a victim. Raise your hands."

Only a few students raised their hands a little timidly. Sorah's never seen such a thing happen. It got her listening, though. 

"Good. Only a few," said Professor Abner. "The power of Hypnotism is a dangerous game. You must only use this if in danger. Some tried to ban it. Most wanted it to stay. So we do this now." He closed his eyes again. "Does anyone know how it works?"

Unsurprisingly, Hazel put her hand up, sickeningly smug about it.

"Ah," said Professor Abner. His eyes were open, still dazed but slightly shocked. Obviously not any of his students before had known such things. "Ms. Martin, care to enlighten us?"

Hazel sat up straighter, her friends smirking. 

"The key is to concentrate," explained Hazel, lifting up her hand as her red bracelet sparkled. "Concentration is the most important part. Blocking out the sounds and the rest of the world from you. Your attention on that one victim—whether it be making eye contact, which usually makes it easier, or whether it be looking at the side of them. Warning, you have to be careful, because if you go in too deep, you'll start reading their thoughts. And you need to block out all traces of sound and energy."

Everyone was intrigued by what Hazel was saying. Even Sorah couldn't held but lean forward a tad bit. 

"That is correct," said Professor Abner, impressed. "I'll give a surviving point for that." 

Tom nudged Hazel's arm in admiration and she raised an eyebrow of pride, smirk lightening up her face. Millie tapped Sorah's arm, pointing to Levi and she looked to see the other sticking her tongue out at Hazel. Sorah giggled quietly and looked ahead. 

"In today's lesson, we are going to be playing a game," he announced and people were muttering in confusion. "I will be putting you in pairs, for this one. As soon as you find them, I want you to sit crossed legged and do nothing until I say so."

Sorah began tightening her tail around in a knot. _Please pick someone decent_ , she prayed. 

Some students were called and then she heard her name.

"Sorah-Bella Stylan," called Professor Abner. "You here?"

Sorah slowly raise she hand, gulping down the lump in her throat.

"Ah, yes," he said, ticking her name off. "The girl who doesn't talk." Some of the class laughed. Millie pushed a boy next to her who was laughing and he scolded, shuffling away from her. 

"Crazy bitch," he muttered. 

"You will be with Greyson May, is he here?"

"Yup!" said Greyson, putting his hand up. He gave a long glance at Sorah and smiled softly when she lifted her head to look at him. At least it was someone she knew and liked.

After all the names had been called, Greyson shuffled to where Sorah was as it looked at if she wouldn't be moving anytime soon. 

"Now, I want you all to sit up straight, ears up, tails relaxed and breath for me."

Everyone did as they were told. Sorah drew in a deep breath, letting her Hybrid-ears fall limp as well as her tail. Greyson did the same, relaxing all of his muscles. 

"For the next part, I want you to look deep into your opponents eyes. Deep into their eyes."

Blushing slightly, Sorah moved her grey eyes to Greyson's blue ones. Both stared at each other, yet their faces were relaxed and Greyson looked so into it. One thing about Sorah is that she didn't mind making eye contact—that was for some reason an easy tactic for her. 

"Even though this is a quiet room, try not to think about anyone or anything else. Take more deep breaths and block out everything apart from the Hybrid opposite you."

Sorah took in another deep breath and let it out slowly. She pushed herself not to enter Greyson's thoughts and managed to block out everything else. She didn't realise Greyson had gone rigid until Sorah let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. 

"Anyone?"

Greyson didn't move and Sorah was able to look at Professor Abner. Other Hybrids were still moving. 

"No ones managed to take control over ones?"

Professor Abner's eyes scanned the room until they fell onto Sorah and Greyson. A huge smile spread across his face as he sat up and made his way over.

"It seems, class, we have some Hybrid who has managed to Hypnotise her victim."

Hybrids started gathering around and Sorah felt awful. She had just hypnotised Greyson and she had no idea what to do and how she did it!

"Don't worry, Ms. Stylan," crooned Professor Abner, taking hold of Greyson's white hairs and giving it a light tug.

Greyson snapped out of it and puffed out a breath. 

"What happened?" he said, a little dazed.

"What happened before you fell asleep, May?" asked Professor Abner, now sitting cross legged next to him. 

"Well," Greyson gulped nervously, looking down and then up again at Sorah. "Her eyes..."

"Yes?"

Students craned their necks to listen. To Sorah's mute amusement, Hazel's eyes were eager and ready to listen.

"A white cloud crossed them. I could hardly see her pupils... then... that's all..."

Professor Abner looked incredibly proud and quickly stood up, grabbing Sorah's arm and making her stand up. "Never in all my years has a student been able to so much as Hypnotise another in their first lesson! Well done, Ms. Stylan. I will be rewarding you ten points to your survivor's Clan. You'll be able to perfect this in the next couple weeks we are here!"

Some were very interested and happy for Sorah whereas others hated that they were not the one to figure something like this out first. They kept growling it under their breaths.

"Sir?" Rose raised her hand and Professor Abner let go of Sorah's arm, who rubbed it a little before sitting back down again, feeling a little out of place. The teacher sat back in his normal place and the teens around him listened.

"Yes, Ms. Joy?" he nodded in approval for the question coming.

Roses green eyes wandered the class before turning back to the Professor. "What do you mean by next couple of weeks we'll be here?"

Hazel scoffed and Sorah wanted nothing more than to glare at her. Unfortunately, Hazel was at the very back and she didn't want to turn around.

"Are you that stupid, Joy?" sneered Hazel. "The Quadwizard Tournament is coming up. Us Hybrids have to spend the whole entire year at a place full of stupid and filthy wizards."

Professor Abner frowned. "I will not have that language used here, Ms. Martin. Wizards are our friends and we must respect them as much as they respect us."

"That's so untrue," growled Jamie. His red eyes flashed dangerously of hatred. "Some wizards treat us like animals."

"Um, we are animals," said Ashton, eyebrow raised.

"Half animals," Zuri shot back. "Wizards and witches alike still think low of us. So of course we're gonna detest them."

"Alright, class, calm down," shushed Professor Abner. "I still want you to pay your respects. We will be the bigger person if we are equal. As for the Quadwizard Tournament, we will be leaving Hybithia next month, October. So there is next to no tests in fourth year. But you do have to make up for it next year."

There is a mixture of groans and sighs in the class and Professor Abner smiled. 

"Which school, may I ask, are we visiting?" asked a student from the back.

Professor Abner looked up. 

"Hogwarts. We will be going to the school Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry."


	7. ❀Welcome to Hogwarts❀

Professor Abner wasn't wrong about Sorah perfecting the Hypnosis game. Soon enough she could make a victim, Greyson, follow her hand and movements all together. It wasn't proper Hypnotising yet, but it soon will be. During their time at Hogwarts, they were promised to of learned the whole thing by the end of the year.

Levi was incredibly impressed. Normally it was always Levi to perfect things first, but she's been having some trouble with it. Then again, so has everyone else. Sorah is the only one managing to actually properly hypnotise people. 

Professor Abner said it was beginners lucky. Others say she's just a natural at it. 

Either way, it wasn't all to do with the magic. There was an essay to fill as well. Sorah didn't have a worry about that. When she understood some sort of magic or subject for that matter, it was no problem to do it in writing for her.

Right now, Levi and Sorah sit at a small table near the corner of the Main Hall, eating lunch and talking.

Well, mostly Levi was doing the talking. 

"So, we've been told a few things about the Quadwizard Tournament," began Levi, taking a sip of her orange juice. 

Sorah found the excuse not to talk as she was eating a ham sandwich. 

"A student from each school gets to place their name into, what they call, the Goblet of Fire. Whichever one is chosen gets to do the tasks." 

Levi thought for a minute; she was no doubt remembering what she had heard when eavesdropping on the Headmaster and other Professor's. "I also heard Professor Holden comment on what students are allowed to go."

Sorah swallowed and allowed herself to speak. Levi must have sensed it because she leaned forwards to her Sorah better. 

"Ve must be...?" Sorah tried to play it out more as a question than a statement. 

"Yes," nodded Levi. "Students from the other schools, like the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang—the students from their last years are going. Only a few are excepted. I think only a few are excepting fourth years."

Sorah suddenly felt on edge again. She wanted to go to Hogwarts. She wanted to see Hunter.

"I'm sure we'll be able to go," assured Levi. "I know you miss your brother. Professor Cadwell must allow you to go."

Sorah stared worryingly into Levi's eyes. She was always so awed at Levi's eyes. One a deep, ocean blue and the other a dark, violet colour. Sorah was more than a little jealous. Not in a mean way. She wished she had different coloured eyes.

"But ... I vant you there vis me..." said Sorah, looking down at the table, embarrassed. 

" _Duh_ ," chuckled Levi, "I'll be there with you. There is no way I am staying here by myself. And, I wanna see Hogwarts as well! Another point; there's no way I'll be able to survive a week without you."

Sorah smiled gratefully and picked up a biscuit, nibbling on it. 

"I don't think fifth years are going to be coming," said Levi, taking a biscuit herself. "They've got their F.L.O.H.'s. Also, first, second, and third's aren't coming. Some sixth years are allowed as well as fourths. All of seventh year is going—well, they basically have no choice—but yeah." Levi gave a small smile. "That's all I heard. I didn't wanna risk my life so I ran for it."

Sorah eyed Levi's arm which held a bandage around it. Though it was almost a year ago it happened, Hazel had really buggered it up. Sometimes Levi was forced to wear a brace just to stop the bone from randomly cracking. Not even magic could fix it. 

"Oh, my arm?" Sorah nodded, finishing her biscuit. "It's not getting any better, but it's not getting any worse." Sorah smiled half-heartedly, rubbing her eyes at the blurriness around her. God only knows her excuse for not wearing her glasses again. "We should get going. We'll be leaving tomorrow and we still haven't packed." Levi pushed her plate aside. The two collected their bags and headed off towards their dorm room. As they entered the atmosphere was light and buzzed a silence of warmth. It let Sorah's posture relax a lot more and she felt at ease when she saw that Hazel and her friends weren't in the dorms. 

When they reached their room, Emilie was in there reading a book on her bed. Beside her, it looked as if she hadn't packed. Emilie looked up when the two walked in. "There is a list downstairs to who's going. I'm not going." she said this quite sadly. "But luckily I've asked to move rooms so I won't be alone."

"So, Millie's going?" said Levi, sitting in her bed as Sorah picked up her white blanket and out of instinct stuck her thumb in her mouth. 

Emilie nodded. "Yup. You two are going. And I made sure to double-check."

"Who else, if you don't mind me asking?" said Levi, bending down, careful of her arm, and dragging out her suitcase. 

"Greyson and Lilian," said Emilie. "Oh, and Ashton. Rose and Flora unfortunately aren't going. They're really bummed about it since those six never separate."

Sorah rolled over on her bed, squeezing her eyes shut, curled up into a foetal position, thumb still in mouth. 

"Sorah?" Levi's voice cut through the light tension.

Sorah only moaned whole heartedly in response, indicating the she-Hybrid wanted to be left alone. 

"We've got dinner soon. I wouldn't fall asleep," commented Levi.

There was some shuffling about. Sorah figured Levi was packing already. Normally Sorah was a very organised and well kept Hybrid, but today she just wanted to shut her eyes and sleep. It was mainly because at times like this she'd rather sleep and relax herself rather than be in a big time rush. 

"Sorah-Bella, don't fall asleep."

"I von't..." grumbled Sorah, having to remove her thumb from her mouth. 

"Do you want me to pack for you?"

Even though this made Sorah feel incredibly guilty, she didn't think she'd be able to pack without Levi noticing something was wrong. Unless Sorah just stayed hidden from sight and avoided Levi's eyes; that wouldn't work.

" _Ja_ ," she mumbled around her thumb, snuggling closer to her blanket. She felt a cold gust of wind hit her and assumed Levi was busy trying to close the open window of their room. 

Nothing else was said and Sorah was glad for that. Despite her not being in the best of moods small day, Levi's decided to still put up with her. Guilt again tripped Sorah. She really didn't deserve someone as kind and as patient as Levi. She frowned at the thought. The blanket she held close to her was now not satisfyingly cool so she let it free for a bit. Shaking her head, her pupils taking shape of an even smaller circle. Her blue eyes were a pale colour and she felt her throat clog up.

 

* * *

 

 "Sorah?"

Uncurling from her fetal position, Sorah opened her eyes and found that it was now much darker outside and the only thing lighting the room was a few candles dotted on the night stands. Emilie was no longer in the room, and neither was Levi. The voice belonged to Millie was was gently shaking her. 

"Come on. It's dinner." Millie dragged her finger across Sorah's forehead which was slightly sweater. 

Come to think of it, Sorah felt drenched in sweat. She had then realised she was still sucking her thumb. Embarrassed, she removed it and sat up slowly. The back of her head felt warm and damp.

"Your breathing was abnormally fast when I was waking you up," murmured Millie, keeping her voice as if Sorah were a baby animal. "I figured you were having a nightmare." The only response Millie got was the shake of the head. Sorah doesn't recall dreaming. She hardly ever dreams. So she didn't think she was having any sort of nightmare. "Oh," said Millie, retreating her hand from Sorah's shoulder. "Your anxiety has been on edge all day, according to Levi. Do you need anything?" Millie sat down and Sorah hesitantly rested her head on her shoulder. Millie seemed a little taken aback but didn't move away. "Just a hug?"

Sorah moved her head and mutely snuggled closer to Millie. The kitten-Hybrid placed her arms around Sorah.

"You'll be seeing your brother soon. And you'll be gone from this place. Think about what Hogwarts is like."

Sorah allowed Millie to keep on talking. There was in no way Sorah was going to dinner. She knew Levi or Millie would sneak up some food for her. It's not that she was feeling unwell; she was just feeling so tired and disorientated. 

Slowly, she could feel herself drifting off into an even deeper sleep. After listening to Millie's soft voice drone on, she finally let herself fall limp and for the second time that day, fall asleep. 

 

* * *

 

 Time showed it was 5:47 a.m when Sorah came out of a sleepy haze. It was too cold and there were noises. She then noticed that there was a light around her curtain, signalling that someone was awake. There was also talking. Sorah removed her thumb form he mouth and sat up dizzily. 

"Levi..." she whispered and suddenly her curtain was drawn back to reveal a really tired looking Levi. 

"Sorry, Sorah," apologised Levi, "but we have to get up."

Sorah face planted her pillow, feeling a chill run down her spine. " _Nein_..."

Levi chuckled lightly and then fully opened Sorah's curtains. She poked Sorah's sides and pulled on her tail. Sleepily, she pulled her tail from Levi's gentle touch and finally sat up again and swung her legs over the bed. That's when she noticed she was basically already dressed. But, of course, it was in her day clothes. She needed to get in her uniform. 

To make matters worse, she couldn't even find her uniform. Because Millie was no where in sight and neither was Emilie (since she had decided to change rooms last night as to not wake up on her own) she collapsed to the carpeted floor dramatically. Letting out a little sigh to catch her friends attention, Levi turned and laughed. Her arms were spread so Levi had to take a big step over them just to crouch down and poke Sorah's cheek childishly. 

" _Stahhp_ ," giggled Sorah, turning her head away.

"You seem to be pretty much awake," sighed Levi, getting up again. "I'd say you can make it. Come on, lazy-bones, get up." Again, Sorah groaned but carried on looking for her uniform once she managed to get up off the floor. "Oh, Sorah-Bella!" sang Levi, coming back into the room from the bathroom to show Sorah her uniform. She chucked it and Sorah gracefully caught it. With a small eye roll, Sorah climbed on her bed and shut the curtains with normal hybrility and proceeded to get changed. 

"Hey, is Sorah up yet?" Millie's voice flowed into the quiet room.

" _Ja_ ," Sorah responded whilst fitting her wings through her sweater vest. 

"Good."

Once all of them were ready, they quietly walked into the common room and found a couple dozens of other fourths years. All were whispering among one another, not to wake the remains. Some excited whispers and some grumbling about why they had to wake ever so early. Then the door to the common room opened and exposed Professor Holden, with a little check list in hand. Her sharp, blue eyes scanned the quiet students and her white, fluffy cat ears were held back in a stern fashion. No one dared to make a noise. 

"Fourth years, follow me," she said quietly, but loud enough for everyone's ears to catch. 

Sorah folded her Hybrid-ears back more tightly to block the cold.

They made it to the front entrance and were then directed to the huge lake that was by Hybithia.

"Aren't we getting the train?" questioned a sixth year. "And what about breakfast?"

Professor Holden scolded. "There is no way we'll get to Hogwarts in time if we eat breakfast now. But we'll be having that in the coach."

"Coach?" 

A buzz spread throughout the crowd of many students. Levi and Sorah exchanged a confused glance. What the hell was a coach?

"If any of you have heard of the Knight Bus, it is kind of like that," explained Professor Holden. "Now, we will be underwater. A tunnel which leads through the water—"

Sorah picked up a familiar scent near her and she turned slightly to see Evan. She recognised the scent from Levi, a hint of tea and cinnamon. Any Hybrid can collect the scent of another Hybrid of human and memorise it for life—unless theirs had changed.

Evan smiled brightly. Levi seemed to notice as she turned around, giving the taller twin a smile back. 

"I'm so glad you're coming," whispered Levi. 

"Me too," sighed Evan. His roundish-lion ears were drawn back against his scalp and tail wrapped loosely around his thigh. "I wouldn't be able to stand them for a whole year without my trusty sister." He bumped his shoulder with her lovingly and she stuck her tongue out at him.

By 'them', Sorah assumes Evan was referring to his friends. Only one of which Sorah knew had come along with him. The rest where nowhere else to be seen. Evan clearly hadn't found his friendship group. It wasn't that the other Hybrids disliked him, it was just a situation like Levi's. Liked by some yet not friends with them. They're easy to talk to, but no one bothers to have a proper conversation with them. Honestly, Sorah felt bad. She felt she had more of an advantage because people just didn't talk to her; they had no reason to judge her. However, Hazel proved her point back in second year. 

"Right!" A clap sounded throughout the grounds. "Please, third and forth years, step forth. I will be taking your attendance in the coach. And please mind the water."

Professor Holden did a flick of her wrist which sent the water of the lake shooting up into a huge wave. But instead of the wave crashing over like it was supposed to, it stayed up, floating with water just sitting off the edge. Everyone was in awe. It was as if you were to walk through an open aquarium full of underwater creatures to observe.  However, Sorah has the urge to run. Water had to be one of her greatest fears. She had never been able to swim. It was a curse. She can't remember exactly when they fear had occurred or why she even developed the phobia. Back home, she is surrounded by the forest with many lakes near by that her and her family always go to, but she never goes in the water with Declan and Hunter. She stays on the bank with Becca, reading or eating in a comfortable silence, soaking in the sun. She had no reason to fear water, she has just never liked it.

Following Levi, Evan and Millie, she interested herself in looking at the the grass. Once she stepped on the water, she felt a wave of freezing droplets fall over her and the next thing she knows, she's warm again, inside what looked to be a train but less space. It had tables with every two chairs with just about enough leg room for even the tallest of people, like Hazel. She even wondered if there was a comfortable amount for a boy like Cujo.

Sorah felt someone gently grip her wrist and was dragged to sit down. 

"You don't mind me taking the window seat, right?" said Levi. 

" _Nein_ ," said Sorah, tiredly yawning widely like a cat. She knew Levi had travel sickness, but mostly in the car. She didn't think on a train it was too bad, but because they had never been on a coach before, she had no way to judge how Levi was going to be. And she had no recollection of Levi ever getting on a bus. 

Levi smiled sheepishly. "I'm not so bad on the train. But something like this will probably not be too good. Just looking out the window relaxes me."

Levi climbed in first, showing with a relaxed posture that she had enough space. This meant that Sorah did as they were both similar heights. She sat down, keeping her tails hanging off of the edge to catch the slight cool breeze that brushed past her side. The backpack she had occupied in her lap was opened by her nimble fingers, pulling out a book to rest on the table for the train ride. It was a Charles Dickens book, 'Great Expectations'. She had always been a fan of his work. 

Beside her, Levi balled up, trying to regain the warmth the coach provided. She then reached up as much as her short arms could handle and switched off hers and Sorah's air-con, grumbling something about how it was crazy they decided to have air-con on in this weather. 

"Hey, if there's anything like tea or coffee, mind waking me? I might sleep to ease the nausea."

Sorah nodded at Levi and the she-Hybrid gratefully grinned before turning to the side, head leaning against the window. It was adorable—Levi sleeping. 

More and more students piled onto the coach. The seventh came on last to catch the back seats. Sorah caught Cujo's eyes and he smiled, despite them hardly knowing each other. He ruffled her hair playfully and she blushed, turning her head away. His friends chuckled and carried on towards the back. Levi didn't seem to notice—in fact, she was already drifting off into a deep sleep. 

Sorah always liked and appreciated Cujo; he was always really nice and patient with her. He had helped Sorah around the castle when she first arrived and had fought off Hazel and Zuri a lot for her. 

Everyone was a buzz of energy—well, save for the students who were asleep. It looked incredibly weird. Though the coach wasn't actually touching the water since it was spread out for it, it was still an incredibly weird experience. It made Sorah feel quite uneasy. But she knew she was in safe paws. 

"Now, I will be talking your attendance very seriously!" announced Professor Holden. "Everyone will be checked upon and your school bags will be with you shortly. Please, no taking your seat belts off until the seatbelt sign goes off. The first ten minutes is a bit rough, I might add; to anyone whom happened to become poorly whilst travelling, please let us know immediately. You will require a Muggle tabletto stop it. Any questions?"

Levi shifted beside Sorah and peeked up. Shyly, she raised her hand, still in a slight daze. 

"Yes, Amori?" said Professor Holden. 

"Could I please take that Muggle tablet?" she asked, flushing from embarrassment. 

"Of course," she said with a kind smile. "And you too, Mr. Davidson?"

"Yes please!"

Levi sighed that she wasn't the only one. A thought just occurred to Sorah that in less than 24 hours, she will once again be reunited with her brother. She felt, for some odd reason, a bit giddy. Who could blame her? The fact that she had never once stepped paw in Hogwarts worried her. What if Hunter's friends didn't like her? What if everyone at Hogwarts were just like some of the mean people in Hybithia? Then, now that she thought of how ludicrous these thoughts were, she shook them off and stubbornly forced herself to pick up her book and start reading. She doesn't know why she lets these views ever get to her when she kniws for a fact that they are not true. No matter what, Hunter will always stick with her.

About half an hour into the trip, everyone was a light and awake. Levi was drinking some tea whilst reading Hogwarts: A History on the little lunch table they had. Sorah was busy sketching a red fox and humming quietly to herself, tongue sticking out in concentration. Since it was so early in the morning, it was a bit sickly to be reading a book on quite a bumpy first ten minute ride. Not to mention, her line of vision just would not stop buzzing in and out of focus. So, instead, she gave up for a good twenty minutes of falling asleep before Levi became restless. She again then reached for her bag. Immediately, she fished out her sketch book and sketching pencils. Levi always complained that it was unfair how talented Sorah was and Sorah would give her a look that said _hush-up-you're-good-at-art-too_. Levi did and giggled to herself, flushing red. She then grabbed her Hogwarts: A History book and settled into reading. 

Then it wasn't long until drinks and toast were being served. So you could say, it was fairly relaxing. 

Millie behind them with Lilian were talking quietly. And in front of them were Greyson and Ashton. 

Within the time it was lunchtime, students were becoming restless and were fidgeting, complaining about when they were going to arrive. Sorah had longed to reading her favourite book that she has read thrice, Watership Down and Levi had gone into another book to do with Latin. Millie and Lilian had gone quiet and when Sorah looked back, she smiled, finding them asleep. 

For lunch, Professor Holden brought round ham and cheese toasties. Levi gladly ate the two pieces as well as Sorah. It was Sorah's first time trying them, as she wasn't a fan of cheese, hence why she never picked them at Hybithia. But, now that she ate them, she was glad she did. They were absolutely delectable! Sorah wouldn't mind having seconds that were passed around. So she gladly took the offer. 

A few of hours past lunchtime, it was starting to get dark. A lot of students were asleep and Sorah was on the verge of it, thumb in her mouth again whilst looking out the window past Levi. Levi herself was leaning against the window, mouth slightly open and breathing slowly. Though she looked uncomfortable, she seemed to be in a peaceful sleep.

She was just slowly drifting off when someone called her name.

"Hey, Sorah!"

It sounded like Cujo. Drowsily, sheturned to see him holding what looked like some Muggle sheet music. Without another thought, he got up from his seat and strolled over to Sorah, bending down. He presented the sheet to Sorah which read _Let Her Go_. Sorah gave him a confused look. 

"A little birdie told me you know the cords that represents a Muggle instrument," explained Cujo with a grin. "Could you play the cords? We wanna sing it. It's our favourite song."

Sorah took the sheet from him and read over the notes. They looked fairly easy. When she looked back at Cujo, he was smiling pleadingly. She only nodded and he sprang up, clapping his hands.

"Thank you," he said. "Whenever you are ready."

Sorah shifted, not feeling very happy about performing in front of everyone. With a deep breath, she stared intently at her white bracelet and began playing. She found it was a nice tune. It resembled a heartwood guitar, Sorah guessed. 

Before Sorah knew it, the kids at the back started singing a soft, sweet melody.

 

_"Well you only need the light when it's burning low._

_Only miss the sun when it starts to snow._

_Only know you love her when you let her go."_

 

Sorah payed attention to her hand and the chords. Others had looked around and smiled, happy that there was something going on. Professor Cadwell and Professor Holden looked up from their deep conversation and didn't seem to intend on stopping them. 

 

_"Only know you've been high when you're feeling low._

_Only hate the road when you're missing home._

_Only know you love her when you let her go—And you let her go."_

 

There was another beat, and Sorah noticed that Greyson had started it with his magic. They made eye contact and Sorah gave him a dimpled smile which to he returned with a toothy grin. Now everyone on the coach had stopped most of their conversations and looked past to see what was going on. Levi shifted beside Sorah and yawned.

"What's going on?" she queried with another yawn. Sorah smiled wider, giving her a little shrug and looking back down at the sheet music. "Let Her Go? No way! That's one of my favourite songs!"

 

_"Staring at the bottom of your glass._

_Hoping one day you'll make a dream last._

_But dreams come slow, and they go so fast._

_You see her when you close your eyes._

_Maybe one day you'll understand why—everything you touch surely dies."_

 

Sorah looked back to see Cujo grinning from ear-to-ear as his mates sung around him. Wasn't he singing? Surly he was. 

 

_"But you only need the light when it's burning low._

_Only miss the sun when it starts to snow._

_Only know you love her when you let her go._

_Only know you've been high when you're feeling low._

_Only hate the road when you're missing home._

_Only know you love her when you let her go._

_Staring at the ceiling in the dark._

_Same old empty feeling in your heart._

_'Cause love comes slow, and it goes so fast._

_Well you see her when you fall asleep._

_But never to touch and never to keep._

_'Cause you loved her too much and you dive too deep."_

 

Past that line, Sorah then noticed that half of the coach were now singing. And she realised that the soft voice beside was not only Levi, but Millie and Lilian from behind her. It mixed together so well as if she were in the greatest choir class there was. Not everyone was a good harmoniser, but together they somehow made it work. 

 

_"Well you only need the light when it's burning low._

_Only miss the sun when it starts to snow._

_Only know you love her when you let her go._

_Only know you've been high when you're feeling low._

_Only hate the road when you're missing home._

_Only know you love her when you let her go—_

_And you let her go,_

_Oh oh, oh no._

_And you let her go,_

_Oh oh, oh no_

_Well you let her go,_

_Oh oh, oh no."_

 

"Come everyone, sing!" beamed Cujo and that seemed to do the trick because the next verse, the whole coach was alight with the warmth of a choir; including Sorah.

 

_"'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low._

_Only miss the sun when it starts to snow._

_Only know you love her when you let her go._

_Only know you've been high when you're feeling low._

_Only hate the road when you're missing home._

_Only know you love her when you let her go._

_'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low._

_Only miss the sun when it starts to snow._

_Only know you love her when you let her go ~"_

 

When Sorah stopped her movements and the coach went quiet, there was some clapping up near the front. Heads turned to see Professor Cadwell, Holden and some other teachers applauding them all. 

Sorah never felt like this—the Hybithian community actually not judging her for who or what she was. It was a great coach trip. 

 

* * *

 

 "Hybithian's, we are ten minutes away from Hogwarts. Please put your seatbelt's back on."

The echoing of Professor Cadwell's voice brought Sorah to a half asleep status and when she was awake, it was someone leaning over and putting something over her lap. With a jolt, she shook her head and found the Levi had just clipped in her seatbelt. 

"Sorry for waking you," she apologised sheepishly. "We're nearly there."

Sorah only nodded sleepily and closed her eyes again, fighting the urge to suck her thumb.

Because she couldn't fall asleep again, she hazily looked ahead and was just in time to find the coach entering a light hole and soon enough, they were on land again. But this time, it was somewhere different. 

"Please, leave your belongings on here and step off one by one. We don't want any freak accidents."

The sound of loud chatter began and the the unclipping of seat-belt's. Sorah happily complied and stretched her arms wide. There was hardly any space, that's why when she did this action, she accidentally hit Levi.

" _Es tut mir leid_ ," - "I'm sorry," said Sorah, blushing. 

Levi, assuming that meant sorry, laughed it off. "Don't worry about it. C'mon—wanna get outta here before I die from exhaustion."

They followed on outside. It was not surprising that when Sorah was out on the soft of the grassy ground, there was a yelp behind her, followed by giggling. She turned and found Hazel and Zuri walking away, laughing to themselves. Levi was on the floor, bad arm planted onto the ground. It wasn't the grassy bit either.  

Sorah quickly skirted over, leaning down and gently prying her friend off of the concrete ground. Levi let out a slight whimper and Sorah eyed her arm worriedly. There was sure to be a nasty bruise there the next morning. Why were people such arses?

"What is going on?" 

A new voice came to their ears and they both turned to see a man there. This man had a long, beard as well as hair, in long robes and a wizards hat. This must be Hogwarts headmaster, Dumbledore. 

Sorah gulped and eyes Levi with concern. The red-headed girl just nodded mutely, bashfully placing a hand over her injured arm.

Above them, Professor Dumbledore smiled. "Well, your school are currently heading in." Sorah and Levi exchanged worried glances. "Not to worry, follow me."

Not wanting to be left behind, they did as they were told, walking beside the tall man. 

"Oh," he turned to them again. "Girls, welcome to Hogwarts."


	8. ❀The Goblet of Fire❀

"Wow..." Levi exclaimed, looking up at the big gates of Hogwarts. "It's massive. Much bigger than Hybithia!"

Professor Dumbledore chuckled as they stepped inside. "Well, there are a lot less Hybrids then there are wizards and witches."

They were led a long way before they reached another big pair of double doors. This led to what Sorah assumed to be the Main Hall. Or maybe it was named something different here. Whatever name it was, it was huge. Upon seeing the amount of students, Sorah self-consciously drew back her Hybrid-ears and wrapped her tail around her thigh.

"Don't be shy," said Professor Dumbledore to Sorah. "I believe your fellow Hybrids are by the Gryffindor table. Please take a seat. Our students are friendly." With that being said, the man was off and Levi and Sorah glanced at each-other before walking forwards. 

The Gryffindor table looked alight and friendly. Sorah noticed that each table had a different colour uniform, much like Hybrids had different colour bracelets. Except there were six colour chains in Hybrility rather than four. 

"Hey, Levi, Sorah, over here!" called Greyson, his arm waving the two she-Hybrid's over. Some students heads turned their way and they blushed, quickly shuffling over to Greyson. There Greyson was with Millie, Lilian, Ashton and students from Hogwarts. The students shuffled so Levi and Sorah had space to sit. Levi sat closest to the unknown teen knowing it would put Sorah in a very unfortunate situation. 

"Introduction?" said Millie, facing the others.

"Pardon me," said a girl with a bandanna and light brown hair. "My name is Lavender. Lavender Brown."

"And my name is Parvati Patil," said a slightly darker girl. "Welcome to Hogwarts!"

"It is incredibly big here!" commented Ashton. "I've never seen a school this big."

"Yeah," said Millie, "how do you get around?"

Lavender shrugged. "Quite easily, really. The first year was a bit of a struggle. For example, I have no idea how many times I got lost first time around. But, it took at least a couple of months until I was alright. You'll get used to it."

Parvati smiled. "After all, for the rest of the year, this is your home too."

Just as she said this, something, or someone, made Sorah jump back as a head appeared on the table. This man was almost transparent with a hint of blue to him.

"Good evening," he greeted Sorah with an old-fashioned demeanour and flew up high towards the candles that lit up the hall. Sorah creased her eyebrows at Lavender and she giggled.

"That was just Nearly-Headless Nick," she explained. "The ghost of Gryffindor tower."

The buzz around the hall started to subside as the last of the students entered the hall and found their tables. Last in line was Professor Dumbledore, Professor Cadwell, Professor Karkaroff and Madam Maxime. When their Headmistress appeared, the pupils from Beauxbatons kept to their feet. A few of the Hogwarts students laughed. The Beauxbatons party appeared quite unembarrassed, and did not resume to their seats until Madam Maxime had sat on Professor Dumbledore's left-hand side. Professor Dumbledore, however, remained standing, and a silence fell over the Hall. 

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and—most particularly—guests," said Professor Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the Beauxbatons girls, clutching a muffler around her head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh. 

This action made Levi frown. "What's her problem?" she whispered and Sorah raised an eyebrow at the girl. 

"The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Professor Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

He sat back down and Sorah faced away, looking down at her plate until suddenly the dishes in front of them filled with food. There was a massive variety of plates than Sorah had ever seen and she looked around to see that some were definitely foreign. 

"What's that?" Sorah heard a boy a couple of seats over from her. He had red hair with a freckly face and rather large nose. A girl next to him with bushy brown hair and soft brown eyes seemed to answer his question. Not wanting to intrude, Sorah kept to herself and looked at the many foods. Levi looked beyond in awe and Sorah was happy to see her picking out decent portions for herself. 

As Sorah ate her meal, she took a chance to look around at the surrounding students. Despite the hall being quite large, the many students seemed to make it a bit small and crowded. There were so many different colours of uniforms. Sorah looked over at a table behind her to see the Hogwarts students there are wearing green and silver attire. With them sat the Durmstrang students—all of them seemed to be in good shape and well built. Big and tough looking. Not all of them, but some of them were. Their uniforms were the colour of blood red which made Sorah wince a bit. The others, Beauxbatons, wore a thin layer of what looked to be silk as far as Sorah could make out. Again, she cursed herself for the lack of glasses. They were sat by a table wearing blue and bronze which made Sorah notice that the students must have been Ravenclaw's. Sorah recognises the uniform from Hunter. A few of the Beauxbatons had shrews and scarfs on, which made Sorah confused. It was hardly cold in here. 

Sorah secretly prayed that she could see Hunter before they all went back to their own kind. 

Twenty minutes after the feast had started a rather large man came through the door and sat down where the teachers were. Eyes widening, Sorah found that she was looking at someone close to Madam Maxime's size, who was a very large woman. Not in width, but in height. And this man and a scraggly brown beard and bushy brown hair with black, beetle eyes. His was large in width and height. The man then waved at their table and Sorah looked to see the boy with red hair, girl with brown eyes and another boy with round glasses waving back with small smiles on their faces.

"Skrewts doing alright, Hagrid?" the boy with round glasses called.

"Thrivin'," the man called back happily. 

The boy caught Sorah's eye and and she found that he had lovely, vibrant green eyes and a mess of jet-black hair. Blushing, she looked away again and choked a bit on her food. 

"You alright, Sorah?" said Levi with a sly smirk on her face.

" _Ja_ ," she nodded reassuringly, still quite red. 

"Oh, you spoke!" giggled Parvati. 

"She's really shy," said Grayson with a little wink at Sorah. Sorah groaned and tried focusing on her dinner. 

"You know, you remind me of someone here." 

Sorah looked at her through a mouthful of chicken, giving her an excuse not to talk. 

"You look this boy in our year and I'm not saying you look like a boy—because you certainly don't. He's in Ravenclaw and his name is ... uhh, Stylan?"

"Hunter Stylan," said Lavender, a dreamy look in her eyes. This put Sorah's fur on end. She better not be having eyes for Hunter. 

"That's her brother," Levi spoke up and the girls both gasped.

"Really?" said Parvati and Sorah nodded.

"That's awesome!" said Lavender. "He never told us he had a sister—and considering you're a Hybrid, I'm surprised he hasn't mentioned you at all."

This made Sorah's heart sink. Hunter has never mentioned her? Why? There has to be some answer to that question. Maybe it was so he wasn't picked on. There had to be some wizards in this hall who didn't accept of half-breeds, surely. Hunter was protecting himself; Sorah could never blame him for that. 

"Hey, look who it is," pointed Levi and the other looked up to find none other than Ludo Bagman sitting at Karkaroff and Mr. Crouch was next to Madam Maxime. 

"What are they doing here?" questioned Lilian curiously. 

"Aren't they the ones to host the Quadwizard Tournament?" said Levi. "I suppose they're here to see the start of it."

Finally, the second course of the feast appeared and Sorah noted all the different types of foreign food. Not that she minded, but she knew for sure she wasn't going to try them anytime soon. 

After the golden plates had been wiped clean, Professor Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension stemmed to fill the hall now. Every student seemed to be in deep concentration, staring at the Headmaster of Hogwarts for what information was about to be announced. 

"The moment has come," said Professor Dumbledore, smiling at the sea of upturned faces. "The Quadwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket. Just to clarify the procedure which will be following this year. But firstly, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of Department of International Magical Co-operation" —there was a smattering of polite applause— "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked much more likeable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave with his hand. Bartimius Crouch did not smile nor wave when his name was announced. 

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements of the Quadwizard Tournament," Professor Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, Professor Cadwell and Madam Maxime on the panel which will judge the champions effort."

At the mention of the word 'champions', the attentiveness of the listening teens seemed to sharpen. 

Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled and said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

A man who was skinny and very old and grumpy looking had been hidden in the far corner of the hall. Now he approached Professor Dumbledore, carrying a great wooden chest, encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose around the watching students; Levi and Sorah had to move a bit just to see but they were far too short to see above people's heads. 

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Professor Dumbledore, as Filtch placed the old chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways ... their magical prowess—their daring—their powers of deduction—and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

At this last word, the hall was filled with a silence so absolute that no one seemed to be breathing

"As you know, four champions compete in the Tournament," Professor Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Quadwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector ... the Goblet of Fire."

Professor Dumbledore now took out his wand, and tapped three times upon the phil of the casket. The lid creaked open slowly. Professor Dumbledore reached inside it, and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable, had it not been full to the brim with dancing white flames. 

Professor Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the Goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to anyone in the Hall. 

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment, and drop it into the Goblet," said Professor Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Hallowe'en, the Goblet will return the names of the four it has judged must worthy to represent their schools. The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. To ensure that no under age students yields to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the Entrance Hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line. Finally, I wish to press upon any of you wishing to compete that this Tournament is not to be entered lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the Tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the Goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are whole-heatedly prepared to play, before you drop your name into the Goblet. Now, I think it's time for bed. Goodnight to you all."

Sorah was hoping to chase Hunter before he went back to the Ravenclaw common room. Just as she was about to look around for Hunter, she felt someone tackle her in a big hug and expecting to find Hunter, she found Brook instead.

"Sorah-Bella!" he yelled excitedly, "my main G! I knew I'd be able to find you!"

"Hunter!" Levi called giggling. "Your boyfriend's flirting with your sister!"

Sorah felt arms being pulled off her and this time she felt more gentle-like arms wrapped around her. The scent said it all. This was Hunter. Sorah hugged back and sighed happily—happy to be back with her brother. 

 _"Keine ergebnisse!"_ \- "I missed you!" said Hunter, rocking her side-to-side. He then realised her and Sorah was once again staring at the spitting image of herself just as a male. 

Sorah smiled, feeling so much more at ease now that her other half was here with her. 

"Stylan's, hate to break you up, but we gotta move," Levi said, putting an arm on Sorah's shoulder. They all agreed and moved along to the Entrance Hall. 

They hadn't noticed students stopping until someone said, "Yeah, that's Harry Potter."

Levi and Sorah stopped dead in their tracks, looking above the tall sea of students. A man that looked to have a face like curved wood and dark, grizzly grey hair was the person who spoke. He had a growling voice and he intimidated Sorah quite a bit. A chunk of his nose was missing and he had many scars upon his face. The thing that shivered Sorah to the bone the most was his eyes. One was small and dark whilst the other was a vivid electric blue magical eye that moved around independently from his normal eye. 

"Don'ts worry, sis," whispered Hunter reassuringly. "He's only my Defence Against zee Dark Arts teacher. He es completely harmless."

"You," the Durmstrang Headmaster said pointedly at the growling man. 

"Me," the man replied grimly. "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway."

It was now that Sorah noticed this was true; half the students in the hall were now waiting behind them. They were all looking over each-others shoulders to see what was going on.

Without another word, Professor Karkaroff swept his students away with him. The man watched him out of sight, his magical eye fixed upon his back, a look of intense dislike upon his mutilated face. 

No Hybithian student stayed behind to put their name in and Professor Cadwell was rather pleased about that. It got his students well rested and people who could make a decision would choose carefully. Not all Hybithian students were up early, probably because of the warmth and comfort to their once coach turned to a little penthouse. 

 

* * *

 

 Levi and Sorah were one of the firsts up and made their way to the Hogwarts castle. Sorah made sure to never lose Levi because God knows she'd have a huge frenzy about where she was and end up stalling back to the coach for comfort. Surprisingly, when they entered the Great Hall, (Sorah found it was called) dozens of students were there, some eating and some gathering around the Goblet. 

"Levi, Sorah, over here!" called Hunter and the girls made their way over. "Stick vis me and my friends. You'll be okay," he said with a dimpled smile. 

Someone laughed from behind them. Turning, Sorah saw two teens with red hair, looking completely the same with a boy with dark skin and hair behind them, running down the stair case. All three of them looked extremely excited. 

"Done it," said one of the twins, with a triumphant whisper to three others. Sorah saw them yesterday. Harry Potter. Yet, she didn't know the other two's names. "Just taken it."

Hunter shifted beside Sorah whilst they talked, a scold held upon his face. Before the twins could take the potions, Hunter stepped forth, stopping them. "Y-you do realise th-thet et es-ss not going to vork," he said drawing the attention of the teens. "Dumbledore w-would have thought of thet."

If Sorah were to be honest, she felt a bit embarrassed. Why did Hunter have to be like that? She does love her brother, but ever since they were little, he was a tale-teller, or in other words: rather prissy. 

But the twins and darker boy ignored his annoyance.

"Ready," said the first twin. "C'mon then—I'll go first—"

With fascination, Sorah watched with wide eyes as he pulled out a slip of parchment from his pocket, bearing the words 'Fred Weasley - Hogwarts'. The boy walked right up to the edge of the line, and stood there, rocking on his toes like a diver like a diver preparing for a fifth-foot drop. Then, with the eyes of every persons in the Entrance Hall watching, he took a great breath and stepped over the line.

The other twin yelled an excited yep of glory before leaping after his twin brother. At first Sorah thought it had worked before there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled across the hall. They landed painfully, ten feet away in the hard, stone floor, and to add insult to the injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical, long white beards. 

The Entrance Hall rang with laughter. Even the twins joined in, once they got to their feet, and had taken a good look at one-another. 

"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice and heads turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He surveyed the twins, eyes twinkling behind his half-moon glasses. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Promfey. She is already tending to Miss. Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though, I must say, neither of their beards is anything as fine as yours."

The twins set off towards the hospital wing who were accompanied by their friend who was howling with laughter. 

"Care to join us for breakfast?" asked Brook and Levi and Sorah nodded, following the two boys. 

The decorations in the Great Hall had changed since last night for Hallowe'en. Sorah looked up in awe. A cloud of fluttering bats were enchanted at the ceiling, whilst hundreds of curved pumpkins leered from every corner. Hunter led them to the Ravenclaw table. In front of them had layers of good-looking food making Sorah's mouth almost water. 

"Are your fangs okay to eat this, Sorah?" Levi sat down, pulling herself a plate and some food.

With a small jolt from her tongue, she felt that it could be weeks or even months before her blunt fangs fall out so she nodded with a small smile of approval. Levi handed her the toast with jam on them and they all gladly tucked in.

Within the next half an hour, there had been cheers from the Gryffindor's where a black girl had just come in, saying that she turned seventeen a week ago and that she put her name in. A party of Beauxbatons students came into the Entrance Hall with their Headmistress and a girl with waist length, silver blonde hair stepped over the age line a put her name in. The Beauxbatons left after several had put their names in and were out of the hall and onto the grounds again with their Headmistress. 

"What should we do today then?" said Brook, finishing his bacon. 

"I vas w-wonderin' a t-tour of the castle ff-for Levi and Sorah," said Hunter, attention on his best friend. "They need to know theor way around."

"Good idea," said Brook. "We'll show you our common room too."

They got up from their seats and started on their way to the Entrance Hall and then on to Hogwarts grounds. First of all, they showed Levi and Sorah some of the classrooms of Hogwarts. Sorah couldn't help but gasp some of the times. It was huge and absolutely amazing. Not meaning to be rude, but Sorah definitely would prefer to live here rather than Hybithia. 

The stairs they descended up moved in all different directions. Whilst on one, it decided to move and each young teen gripped onto the staircase for balance before they were flung off the edge of the stairs. Levi mentioned something along the lines of, "Well, that'll make me queasy," whilst looking over the edge. In the process, she squeezed her eyes shut and Sorah couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

Brook rolled his eyes. "Then don't look over the edge." The stairs stopped moving and they moved on, Levi giving a small glare at Brook.

"I won't, dumb-ass."

At least ten minutes later they made it to the Ravenclaw tower on the fifth floor out of seven. They resembled around a spiral staircase and the door held no lock nor door hand but a bronze knocked in the shape of an eagle.

"I don't get it." Levi tilted her head slightly. "It's called Ravenclaw, but the mascot is an eagle..."

Brook chuckled. "We've never really worked that out either. What about Gryffindor? Where does the lion come from? Why not it be a griffin?"

Levi shrugged but removed her glasses, cleaning them with the sleeve of her black sweater and put them in again, squinting her eyes.

"In order to enter this room, you must complete the riddle the eagle gives you," explained Brook. "If you were to answer it incorrectly, then we'd have to wait for someone else to come up and give the right answer."

"That's a pain," muttered Levi, "has that ever happened to you?"

"Only once," said Hunter, flushing slightly. "But, 'twas n-nn-not my fault!"

Sorah giggled at her brothers protests and then the bronze eagle spoke. 

"What has a head and tail but no body?" it spoke, making Sorah strain her tail a bit. 

There was a silence whilst they thought. Sorah thought as well, but she couldn't place a finger on it.

"A coin!" said Levi and the door then swung open. 

Brook slapped her on the back, and she was lurched forward slightly by the force of his hand. "Awesome thinking, Levy!"

"It's _Levi_ ," she said, unamused. " _Lee-veye..._ "

"I know," Brook said smugly before the entered the room.

It reminded Sorah of her fourth year dorm rooms back at Hybithia. The twinkling ceiling reflected back the carpet as a midnight blue and stars. Apart from that, the room was filled with bookshelves. It was warmed by a light fire and the room itself was very homey. 

"This es beautiful," sighed Sorah and the others looked at her.

"You're right," agreed Levi with a small nod. "This is beautiful."

You can now guess that the four spent the rest of their time in the Ravenclaw common room, reading and just quietly talking. Sorah read up to three books and had nearly fallen asleep when having a small conversation with Hunter about how he's been. It wasn't that it was boring, it was the fact that the common room was dark and very intoxicating to lead anyone to sleep. Not to mention the chairs and sofa's were so comfy. Sorah could melt into the comfort of the soft material.

Soon, it started to get dark and the four headed back down to the Great Hall. Not wanting to seem rude, Levi and Sorah went to the Gryffindor table with the six and Lavander and Parvati. Now it was time for the Hallowe'en feast—and, more importantly, the announcement of the four champions. Sorah doesn't doubt that Cujo had probably put his name in. The Goblet of Fire had been moved and was now sitting in front of Professor Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table. 

The Hallowe'en feast, Sorah noted, took rather a long time. Maybe it was because she was naturally a fast eater so she was waiting around for what seemed like an hour when really it was probably half of that. Or maybe it was the fact it was the second feast of two days running. Whichever one it was, it was taking a long time. Like everyone else in the hall, judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on everyone's faces, the fidgeting and the standing up to see whether Professor Dumbledore was finished eating, Sorah wanted the plates to clear to hear who the champions were. 

At long last, the golden plates resumed to their normal empty states; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the hall, which died instantly as Professor Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff, Professor Cadwell and next to him Madam Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Professor Cadwell's ears were twitching anxiously but also excitedly. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested—almost bored. 

"Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Professor Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I will ask them please to come up at the top of the hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" —he indicated the door behind the staff table— "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

He took out his wand and made a great sweeping wave with it at once, all the candles except those inside the curved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them all into a state of semi-darkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting ... a few people kept checking their watches. 

"Any second," whispered the dark boy from earlier, a few seats away from Sorah. 

The flames inside the Goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it—the whole room gasped.

Professor Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arms length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to a bluey-white.

"The champion of Darmstrang," he read, in a strong and clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum." 

"No surprised there!" yelled the boy with red hair and there was a wave of loud applause from every student—more lighter one from the Beauxbatons. Levi and Sorah stared wide eyed at each other upon not noticing that Viktor Krum, one of the best seekers in the world, was in the same room as them and was still in education.

Viktor Krum rose from the table full of students with green and silver uniforms, slugging up towards Professor Dumbledore; he turned right, walking along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.

"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Professor Karkaroff, so that everyone in the hall could hear him. "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and chattering died down. Now everyone's attention was focused on the Goblet again, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of the flames. 

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Professor Dumbledore, "is Fluer Delacour!"

The girl that Sorah saw yesterday with long, silver hair swept between the Ravenclaw table and the other table with yellow and black coloured uniforms. Two girls from the Beauxbatons burst into tears and Sorah found that they had been some girls who wanted to become a champion. 

When Fluer Delecour had vanished to the next chamber, Hybithian students were now leaning forwards, eager to know how the champion would be to represent their school.

Flames turning red and shooting out a parchment, Professor Dumbledore caught it and read loud and clear, "Champion of Hybithia, is Cujo Brandaze!"

The Hybrids of the hall shot up from their seats, cheering loudly as Cujo proudly walked up to Professor Dumbledore, getting pats on the back and pulls of his ears. He playfully shook them off and went across the staff table, disappearing into the second chamber. 

"That's so awesome!" said Levi. "Whoever is better to represent our school?"

Sorah couldn't agree more.

The Goblet of Fire turned red once again; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of the flame shot high into the air, and from its tip, Professor Dumbledore pulled the fourth and final piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"

 "No!" the red head boy shouted in disappointment. 

A lot of the other Gryffindor's looked disappointed too. Shouldn't they be happy? It's their own school. They should support each other. Sorah couldn't help but feel rather irritable by their dispirited attitudes. Just because it wasn't anyone from their house. However, she didn't have time to think of that as the table from next to them was too great of an uproar. Every single student from that table had jumped to their feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric Diggory made his way past them, grinning broadly and headed off towards the chamber behind the teachers table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on for so long that is was some time before Professor Dumbledore could make himself heard again.

"Excellent!" he called happily, as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our four champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students of Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Hybithia to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champions on, you will contribute in a very real—"

But Professor Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him. 

The Fire in the Goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.

Automatically, it seemed, Professor Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the written name. There was a long pause, during which Professor Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands and everyone in the room stared at him, waiting for him to say something. And then, Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out —

"Harry Potter."


	9. ❀The Boy Who Lived❀

Stunned silence filled the Hall. Sorah didn't dare look at Harry. She felt ... she didn't know what she felt. She almost felt embarrassed for him.

There was no applause. A buzzing, as though a swarm of angry bees, was starting to fill the hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry Potter as he sat, frozen, in his seat. 

Up at the top of the table, one of the Hogwarts Professor's had got to her feet and swept passed Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear towards her, frowning slightly. 

Wanting to see, Sorah turned her head to find the whole of Gryffindor table with open mouths, staring at Harry. He whispered something to his friends but they said nothing in return. 

It can't be true. He wasn't even seventeen. What? — he was between 14 and 15, there must have been some kind of mistake!

At the top table, Professor Dumbledore had straightened up, nodding to the other Professor.

"Harry Potter!" he called again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!"

Sorah turned again to see Harry on his feet, treading on the heels of his robes and stumbling slightly, walking between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff table. He was walking incredibly slowly and Sorah couldn't blame him. To have hundred upon hundreds of eyes on him must have been intimidating. The buzzing grew louder and louder. Finally, Harry reached the top table to Professor Dumbledore. 

"Well ... through the door, Harry," said Professor Dumbledore. He wasn't smiling like he did for the other champions.

Harry moved along the teachers table. He was shaking visibly and Sorah could almost smell the scent of fear from him. Levi must have scented it too as well as Millie and Greyson as they all, at the same time, gave each other worried looks of sympathy. 

His messy dark hair was the last thing Sorah saw of him before he disappeared. 

An uproar filled the entire hall, students from all schools protesting in anger or some chattering with excitement. Sorah didn't feel any of these. In fact, she felt concerned for the boy. What an earth had he been thinking? And how did he do it? It made no sense whatsoever. However, Sorah had a gut feeling that he wasn't the one who put it in. The distress was written all over his face. From his eyebrow crease and frown on his lips. 

Professor Dumbledore silenced the Hall. "Please," he began, "I know you must all be very confused right now." He turned around to face the teachers. "I would like each Headmaster and Mistress of each school to follow me." He turned back to the awaiting eyes of kids. "I advise you all to all go back to your dorms. This will be sorted. And please, Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman, follow me." 

Soon, all were gone and everyone was still chattering among themselves, getting up and piling out of the hall. 

Levi dragged Sorah up and Hunter and Brook were instantly beside them — this time, accompanied by two other friends. Sorah guessed it was there little friend group. 

Just as Hunter was about his mouth, another voice peeked Sorah's ears. A girl a couple of teens in front of them was flaring, shouting angrily, "This is fucking ridiculous—"

"Language, Ms. Rustin!" said a Hogwarts teacher with an unamused glare that she had cussed in front of other school's. A way to make an impression on Hogwarts students.

" _No!_ " the girl protested. 

Sorah couldn't really see her but she had light brown hair that came just past her shoulders with a few blonde streaks in them. And by the the looks it, it was in need of a good brush.

"This is uncalled for!" the girl kept on, catching others attention now. "Why does Potter have a chance? It's so unfair!"

The teacher sighed. "Just get yourself back to the Slytherin's common room, and, Rustin, you have earned yourself a detention tomorrow night."

The girl didn't say anything except from muttering something under her breath to a another girl that was next to her. The girl nodded, rolling her eyes and finally, Hunter spoke up.

"Thet Rustin girl," he shook his head in disgust. They were finally out of the Entrance Hall and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Being stuck in a crowd can be very scary. Even if you don't get claustrophobic, it's not very nice. 

"She's a nightmare," said one of the boys. "Bloody Slytherin's. They're stuck up brats, they are."

Levi gave an awkward smile, not really agreeing with the statement. Mainly because they didn't know the Slytherins, so they cannot judge. 

"Oh, we should introduce you to these two!" beamed Brook. 

The taller boy out of the two had quite long, black hair that was a bit messy at the fringe front. He was almost as tall as Brook and had some sort of necklace around his neck.

"I'm Michael," he said with a nod and smile. 

The other was just a bit taller than Hunter and wore a SnapBack (despite the teachers scolding) with feathery brown hair and brown eyes.

"My names Terry, welcome to Hogwarts!" he grinned, eyes closed. Levi and him shook hands but Sorah held back. Terry saw this and didn't try and shake hands politely.  

"Do we have to go straight away?" Levi complained. "I don't wanna go back with the nack of Hybrids complaining." 

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Nack?" 

Sorah giggled lightly, reaching up and pulling a stray curl of Hunter's down to beaten it. He poked her dimple and Levi told Michael what it meant.

"It means with the 'load'," explained Levi. "It's not a real word in the Muggle nor wizards dictionary. It's something Hybrid's say."

"Is it, like, old foreign Hybrility or old?" said Brook, seemingly interested. "You absolute spesh."

Levi rolled her eyes. "It's Greek for old Hybrility. So you basically got both right."

"That's awesome," said Terry. "I'm sure there's old wizards language somewhere. I just can't be asked to learn."

Levi giggled. 

"I don't feel like going back to Ravenclaw tower either," said Brook. "Hey, Levi, Sorah, you haven't seen the outside of Hogwarts yet. It may be after curfew, but we'll be fine. We've done this a load of times."

"Are you sure, Brook?" said Hunter, a worried crease in his brow. "I don't thinks thet es a good idea."

"We do it all the time," shrugged Brook, already making his way outside. Hunter scoffed, running after him and grabbing his hand. Terry wolf-whistled and Levi smirked, shaking her head.

"Buts thet's normally earlier. It's a-almost past 9!" he said, dragging Brook back. Sorah found it quite funny that Hunter had to look up to look Brook in the eyes and Brook had to look down. 

"Ugh, fine," grumbled Brook, resting his arms on Hunter's shoulder. "You always win, kitten."

Levi, Michale and Terry laughed whilst Hunter flushed the deepest red, shoving off Brook but he couldn't help the small smile he had. Brook wiggled his eyebrows and they walked on. Sorah just frowned, not getting what they were laughing at. Was it the nickname, kitten? Sorah had no idea what that was about but I didn't exactly sound right. Yeah, Levi and Sorah don't call each other nicknames, unless you count Levi calling Sorah by her full name. Whatever was going on, Sorah couldn't really bring herself to care all that much. It was nothing to worry about. 

"So, I guess we'll see you tomorrow, huh?" said Michael. 

"Yup," nodded Levi. "We'll see you guys tomorrow. God only knows what it's gonna be like."

Brook rolled his eyes. "I still can't believe Harry Potter got in. Harry Potter!"

Terry frowned. "And he's a Gryffindor too! It's always all about Gryffindor."

Michael nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was actually happy Cedric Diggory got in. I'm happy for Hufflepuff, they're not a bad house—it was their chance to prove more to the school than they are."

"Thet's right," sighed Hunter, a sad glint in his blue eyes. 

Sorah tilted her head, swishing her tail from side to side in curiosity. This nodded Hunter to go on.

"Ve may be Ravenclaw." His tongue rolled on the 'r' and Brook smirked once again. "But, Hufflepuff d-deserves chance, you know? They are ss-seen as the weak and boring house. Th-they are not, though. I've tal-ken to some of the Hufflepuff's and they are a good house. They ... too underrated."

Brook looked incredibly proud of Hunter. His eyes were alight and he affectionately ruffled Hunter's hair in a congrats. Hunter had tried so hard for that.

"I think you're getting there," said Terry with a light pat to Hunter's back. "Your English is getting better and better."

Hunter stuck his tongue out between his teeth, smiling. Sorah mirrored him. He really was getting better. It made her feel useless in a way. There Hunter was, trying his hardest to get rid of his lisp and trying to pronounce certain letters as in the German language they didn't have some of the English letters—and then there's Sorah. Not even bothering to speak at all because she was too scared to even nod or shake her head. 

Brook decided this was a good place to carry on from where they left off. "All we're saying is, Hufflepuff had a chance—and Potter took it away from them. I can't imagine how ticked off the Hufflepuff's must be about it. I would be if I were one of them."

"You're already ticked off, mate," Michael pointed out. 

"Exactly." Brook ran a hand through his hair, messing up the perfect waves over his head. "Potter will end doing this to the wrong sort of people."

For the most part, Sorah would commiserate for Hufflepuff. Were they really known as the weak and boring house? Though Sorah never spoken to one, they all had friendly enough faces. Well, every Hogwarts students did. Yet, she felt that the yellow colour brought a gentleness of joy across them. And the name Hufflepuff itself sounded happy and blitz. 

 

* * *

 

 

A couple of hours later, the four boys went back to the Ravenclaw tower without getting caught, and Levi and Sorah were both off back to their little underwater dorms. 

Upon entering them, a huge herd of Hybrid's had Cujo lifted up by their arms, shouting and jumping. 

"Yes, Cujo!" 

"Mate, you gotta beat that little boy who somehow placed his name in the cup!"

"Isn't that Harry Potter? The Boy Who Lived?"

Levi rolled her eyes and placed her glasses above her head, making it look like she just got out of bed. Her eyes were tired and hair quite a frizzy mess. Then again, Sorah's was a bit frizzy because she hasn't washed her hair in a couple of days. Must have been the same for Levi. 

They spotted a comfy looking sofa by the corner, and maybe more quieter for Sorah's sensitive ears so they walked over and sat down, sighing. 

Not wanting to stand the silence, Sorah said, "So ... I guess the boy, Harry Potter, is in the competition."

Levi looked over, blinking away sleep and yawned, nodding. "Y~yeah," she said. "I guess so. Do you wanna read?"

An ear twitch and wiggle of the nose, Sorah nodded, not caring if there was noise in the background. Levi left her for a bit and Sorah glared at the uneven table because someone had knocked it. It was bugging her and she felt the need to fix it until Levi got back.

"Here."

A rather large and heavy book was placed in the small hands of Sorah. It read Science: Biology.

"What's this?" lisped Sorah, then turning it over and looking at the back. 

Levi adjusted her position and cleaned her glasses before answering the confused looking girl. "This is how I learned a lot about the human body—remember the Muggle thing? I want you to give it a try. And ask me if you can't read anything, don't worry about it."

Sorah read after fixing the table. And she would like to say that she rather enjoyed it. The interesting things the Muggle's know. Incredible, was the word Sorah would love to say, (if she knew how to say it). 

Within the next hour, everyone had stopped shouting and cheering. A low hum was now filling the room and the warm glow of the fire set everything at ease. Sorah felt herself calm and congratulated herself on not having any sort of panic attack today—whether it be to do with the lack of mess or the fact that she had not had to shut or open any doors herself that day, she was fine. 

Levi seemed to be fine as she was eating some cookies and seemed quite tired, meaning she will most likely get a decent nights sleep tonight. 

About half an hour later, Sorah was quarter way through the text. Although she was getting a little on the tired side, she thought to herself she'll read one more part before calling it a night. 

Before she even got to finish a part, however, the sound of music caught her attention. Turning her head away from the book for the first time in an hour and a half, she found that a bunch of sixth and seventh Years were laughing and singing.

She listened carefully.

 

_"Small pleasures, small pleasures,_

_who would deny us these?"_

 

The she-Hybrid Sorah recognised as Cadence had started singing. She was wondering around the room now, trying to get people to pay attention—or more along the lines of trying to get them to join in. 

 

_"Gin toddies — large measures —_

_no skimpin' if you please!"_

 

Hybrids started looking and smiling. Levi had looked up from the book she was reading and placed it down, almost waiting patiently for the song to get going.

 

_"I rough it, I love it._

_Life is a game of chance."_

 

She had placed herself on the table Sorah was getting agitated about and a group of Hybrids were busy playing cards. But they forgot all about their game when she took a small scarf off a girls neck and slid it around her own neck. The girl didn't seem to be fazed at all. She didn't care.

 

_"I never tire of it —_

_leading this merry dance..."_

 

She then jumped off the table, strolling to the other table opposite the room.

 

_"If you don't mind having to go without things, it's a fine life!"_

 

_"It's a fine life!"_

 

_"Tho' it ain't all jolly old pleasure outings -_

_it's a fine life!"_

 

_"It's a fine life."_

 

Cadence was curled around her boyfriend, a very handsome and popular Hybrid, Louis, and sung beautifully. 

 

_"When you've got someone to love,_

_you forget your cares and strife._

_Let the prudes look down on us,_

_let the wide world frown on us,_

_it's a fine—"_

 

_"Fine life!"_

 

Cadence bounced over to her friend Marlee and giggled. "Come on, Marlee! Go on. Tell 'em all!"

"You gotcha'!" winked Marlee, standing up and made a smug, stuck up look on her face. Sorah giggled, knowing she was indicating straight up rich muggles. It was a little inside joke the Hybrids had.

 

_"Who cares if straight laces sneer at us in the streets?_

_Fine airs and fine graces..."_

 

Cadence hopped next to her, shaking her head.

 

_"Don't have to sin and eat..."_

 

Both took each-others arms and did a graceful dance, skirts in their holds, weaving in and out of standing students.

 

_"We wonder through London, who knows what we will find?"_

 

_"There's magic, left undone,_

_from many ah-behind."_

 

_"If ya don't mind taking it as it turns out,_

_it's a fine life!"_

 

_"It's a fine life!"_

 

_"Keep the candle burning until it burns out,_

_it's a fine life!"_

 

_"It's a fine life!"_

 

_"Though you sometimes do come by._

_The occasional black eye."_

 

She started skipping around, reenacting punching someone and her boyfriend pretended to do the same to her.

 

_"You can always cover,_

_till' they black the other one,_

_but ya' don't dare cry!"_

 

Marlee stepped in, wondering over to the table's and getting them up. Some girls joined in with her singing.

 

_"No flounces, no feathers._

_No frills or furbelows._

_All winds and all weathers._

_Ain't good for fancy clo'es."_

 

"That's so true!" called a male Hybrid.

 

_"These handers,_

_these bracelets,_

_is all we can afford._

_What future?_

_What manners?_

_We all got our bed on board."_

 

Cadence and Marlee took a breath before nearly everyone stood up and gathered around them.

 

_"If ya' don't mind having to deal with Rachel,_

_it's a fine life!"_

 

Levi and Sorah burst out laughing as well as some others, as some had shouted back, _"It's a fine life!"_ No one really liked Rachel—that was that. And Rachel was hopefully asleep by now with her minions.

 

_"Though one may threaten to do us all in,_

_it's a fine life!"_

 

_"It's a fine life!"_

 

_"But the grass is green and dense,_

_on the right side of the fence."_

 

Merlee dropped back in:

 

_"And we take good care of it,_

_that we got our share of it,_

_and we don't mean the pence..._

 

_No! If you don't mind having to study for all in,_

_it's a fine life!"_

 

_"It's a fine life!"_

 

Sorah finally stood beside Levi as the song drew them in.

 

_"Tho' there is no tea-sipping or eating the crumpets,_

_It's a fine life!"_

 

_"It's a fine life!"_

 

Sorah knew what that meant. Hybrids didn't have any of that at Hybithia. Tea and crumpets were apparently damaging towards the fangs. 

 

_"Is for me, the happy home,_

_the happy boyfriend and happy light._

_Tho' it sometimes touches me..._

_...for the likes of such as me..._

_mine's a fine...fine..."_

 

_"Life!"_

 

They all synchronised the last part and everyone cheered and clapped. Cadence and Marlee were such good singers, it was so unfair. They chose to stay on the table and did a graceful bow. Suddenly, Cadence's boyfriend lifted her and she squealed gleefully, letting herself down. Marlee soon followed, eyes shining. 

Levi laughed. "You look all tuckered out. Wanna go to bed?"

Only response: yawn. Levi nodded and gathered up their books, heading to their shared room. 

Once they escaped the manic army of students, they were safely back in their small room with two beds. 

Both got changed into their pyjamas in a comfortable silence and as soon as the lights were off, Sorah cuddled into her blanket and teddy, sucking her thumb and closing her eyes.

Who knows what will await tomorrow?

"Goodnight, Sorah," whispered Levi.

"Goodnight, Levi."


	10. ❀Band of One❀

The next morning, Sorah had awoken before Levi for once and crawled out of the small bed to rummage through her luggage. Once she found what she was looking for, a book of languages, she sat there until Levi was to awaken. Whenever Sorah woke up before Levi (which was quite rare) Sorah would wait and read a book to get her started for the day. In a way, it refreshes her brain. 

It was about another half an hour before Levi woke up. Sorah yawned and dog-marked her book, putting it under the bed. Levi sat up, hair a birds nest, and yawned herself. 

"What time is it?" she said sleepily. 

Sorah pulled up her pyjama sleeve and pressed on her white charm. 8:36 a.m it read.

"8:30," said Sorah. "I've been up since 7."

"Jeez," said Levi. "That's not right. You normally like to sleep in."

Without another word, they both got changed into normal clothes. Sorah wore a pastel coloured flannel shirt and blue ripped jeans. Might as well keep her comfy. She was judged for wearing what she wore in Hybithia, but then she just didn't care. It's what she liked. Unlike most girls like Hazel who go around in frilly skirts up their arse with their chests hanging out. Might she mention the layer of makeup makes them look like a clown had just stumbled from the circus in the middle of the street—incredibly out of place. 

Levi wore a black sweater with black ripped jeans. They brushed their teeth and Levi French plaited Sorah's hair. Levi wore a simple tiara braid. As they stepped into the outside world, they were greeted by the chilly wind. It felt to be a fairly good day. Sorah turned her head towards the forest in sight. In Hybithia—as they too were surrounded by the mass of trees—Sorah would venture out into the wildness that showed in Britain. Without meaning to, she would find baby animals who, too young to sense real danger, would come up to her and gladly put all of their faith into her. Sometimes, she would even find herself talking to them. They would respond in their own tongue, but Sorah, as of late, is managing to pick up the different tones and sounds of these animals and almost managing to understand them.

"Do you think we're allowed in there?" Levi subconsciously lifted her arm and pointed towards the layers of trees.

Sorah shrugged at the question, still eyeing it.

"Maybe Professor Dumbledore will allow you? I mean, you do it all the time in Hybithia. Surly it would be okay."

Sorah nodded, her ears bent back by the wind. They decided it would be best to enter Hogwarts castle as it was getting a bit too chilly to bare. Autumn was finally taking its toll in Scotland. Sorah supposed Levi was used to it. After all, she had spent most of her childhood in Scotland. And most of her family lived up here.

Upon entering within the huge doors of the castle, Levi was busy telling Sorah about how and why she wanted to learn German when Sorah started to turn abruptly. Levi was too late and ended up bumping into someone. 

"Watch it, you filthy half-breed!"

Malfoy, thought Sorah.

He was with two of his friends it seemed. One girl, with quite short hair and a pug-like face. The other was big and beefy, long passing the heights of Malfoy and the girl.

Sorah helped Levi up. Before she could stop herself, she spoke, still holding onto Levi.

"What's so wrong with being a half-breed?" she growled. From the comments his father had said from the Quidditch Game, a silent tiger of rage gradually built up within her. Insulting a Hybrid is just something she would rather others keep to themselves. 

Malfoy seemed to do a double-take at what she had just said. His lip curled nastily, his grey eyes piercing through Sorah's own ones.

"It's a cross between a person and an animal," he said, "do you know how disgusting that is?"

"Well done," said Levi, brushing at her arm. "I know that everyone is allowed to act stupid sometimes, but you are really abusing that privilege." 

The girl gasped in horror and the other bot had to look away. He was laughing to himself.

Malfoy was outraged.

He stepped closer. "What gives you the right to even _address_ me like that?"

Daringly, she stepped closer to him also. "What gives you the right to address _us_ like that? You don't see anyone else doing it, do you?"

The girl gasped again, pushing in front of Draco and pulling out her wand. That's when the two she-Hybrids did step back.

"Pansy..." Malfoy pushed her back when he saw both Levi and Sorah swing their arms in front of them, elbows bent, exposing their bracelets. 

"Levi and Sorah!"

Levi turned but Sorah blocked the Slytherins from her friend, glaring daggers at the Pansy girl as she was at her. 

"Ashworth," said Malfoy. 

Sorah relaxed herself, her bracelet calming down and going back to its normal white again.

"Hello, Draco, dear," mocked Brook, standing in between the two she-Hybrids.

Malfoy aimed a glance at Sorah, then flickered back to Brook. "Oh look, your boyfriends little sister, is it? I remember you two now. This place has seriously gone to the dog's — Dumbledore allowing these Mongrels into the school."

"You know what, Malfoy, whenever I look at your face, I am greatly reminded f the good sense of humour God has."

Malfoy was about to pull out his wand himself when a Professor stopped them. 

Professor Holden, of all of them.

"Wand away, boy," she scolded. Malfoy let his disgust waver, just to do as she says. "Please, no more arguing." She turned to Levi and Sorah. "You girls, I told you to stay out of trouble. Good day to you."

With one last glare at each-other, Malfoy dragged his friends away, whilst Brook travelled the other way, leading to the two she-Hybrids to follow. 

"Where are we going, Brook?" asked Levi, having to jog along side of him because of his long legs had big strides. He still hasn't let go of Sorah's hand. She too was struggling to keep balance and up with his own strides.

"Somewhere only Hunter and I go," he said simply. Levi and Sorah gave a look of confusion at one another, but then shrugged it off.

It was perhaps five minutes of tripping and stumbling before they reached an open area by the lake. There, by a large tree, sat Hunter, a natural habitat of him lying beside the tree and reading a book whilst jotting down notes. This is a reason why him and Levi get along so well. 

"Hallo!" waved Hunter, a dimpled smile plastered on his face. _"Wie geht's, Sorah?"_ \- "How are you, Sorah?"

Brook let go of Sorah hand and she immediately ran to Hunter's side, lying her head on his shoulder.

 _"Nic mi nie jest,"_  — "I'm alright," sighed Sorah.

"As much as your language is adorable, please speak in English," snapped Brook. Hunter's head went down back to his book. Levi came over and sat in front of the two siblings. Brook stayed standing. "You know, I'm gonna go."

Hunter frowned, looking up again. "Vere?"

"Ravenclaw tower," shrugged Brook. "It's too cold out here." He then walked away.

Turning her head to Hunter, Levi spoke, "Did you two have an argument of some sort?"

A nod. That's all they got before Hunter was mute. Sorah felt almost awkward. This was her brother, and he wasn't talking. Hunter Stylan wasn't talking. This meant something was wrong. Brook and Hunter must of had a serious argument for this to happen. 

"I'm gonna go too," announced Levi, getting up. "I'll see you later, Sorah." A small smile and Levi was also gone. 

Sorah sighed. Brook brought them both here for a reason, and then he leaves them. They might as well not of come. But it seemed as if Levi left for a reason, feeling the awkward tension.

Hopefully now Hunter will tell Sorah.

But he never spoke.

 _That's it_ , thought Sorah.

"Tell me, Hunter," said Sorah in the most demanding voice she could muster. "What es wrong? Why are you being so quiet?"

"Just l-leave it, Sorah," said Hunter, slamming his book shut. His normal turquoise eyes were a dull shade of blue. Sorah gulped. "There es nothing wrong."

"Really?" scoffed Sorah, sitting up and sitting on her calf's. "Thet's not true, and you know it. You've had a fight with Brook and you refuse to tells us vhy. I'm your sister."

"Yeah, I knows that," Hunter said with just as much frustration, also sitting on his calf's. "Buts I doesn't has to tell you, okay? You may be my sister, but thet does not mean I have t-to tell everysing! It's my business, not yours!" With that said, Hunter picked up his stuff and stormed off, leaving Sorah on her own. 

Prior to what just happened, Sorah puffed out a small sigh. She laid back against the bark of the tree and brought her knees to her chest. It wasn't often her and Hunter fought. When they did, it never turned out well. They never had petty, little arguments. So, it was not rare when they do get into a feud, either one of them are screaming at one another. She stared straight ahead, and probably sat there for about fifteen minutes before she scented someone neat by. The scent wasn't familiar.

"Hello. Do you mind if I sit here?"

Jumping slightly, Sorah looked up to see she was looking at none other than Harry Potter. Blushing, Sorah only nodded at his question. He sat down, quite close to her in fact; she might have noticed if she hadn't been feeling quite warm and anxious. If she wasn't mistaken, the muggle way of saying is that she had butterflies.

"You're a Hybrid," said Harry, pointing out the obvious.

Sorah nodded, self consciously fitting her Hybrid-ears to her hair and curling her tail around her waist. 

"Yeah, sorry," Harry chuckled. "Of course you are."

Sorah didn't know what to say. What was Harry Potter doing out here? Why wasn't he with his friends? So many questions with no answers. Harry Potter should not be seen with someone like Sorah-Bella Stylan.

"I've seen you around," said Harry, looking at Sorah. "You hang around with that other girl with orange hair. She also has blue and pink tips at the bottom? And you're the sister of Hunter Stylan?"

Sorah frowned, finally looking at Harry. 

"You have the same nose," he said and to show, he tapped on his own nose. "You both have curly hair. Same eyes. Mouth. You're both the spitting image of one another."

"We ... get thet ... a lot," she said carefully. 

"You even have the same accent, just Hunter's is a bit thicker."

There was a comfortable silence. 

If Harry didn't leave soon Sorah will be vomiting butterflies. Harry Potter was talking to her. And not rudely either. He seemed nice enough.

"I don't believe it vas you," whispered Sorah, but Harry heard. 

"Sorry?" he said, turning to her.

She faced him, not wanting to be rude. She might as well get this out of the way, since she seems to for whatever reason be talking a rather lot today. Not mistaken that she had a faint redness to her cheeks, freckles standing out more—she felt more of her anxiety building its way out of her. Still, she kept her ground.

"Thet your name came out of the Goblet of Fire and everyone es annoyed at you ... like—"

"Like your brother and his friend," finished Harry. "My friends are too. So many don't believe me..."

"I know you didn't," continued Sorah. "It can't have been you. To anyone who believes you done it, they're lying to themselves."

Harry couldn't help but smile at Sorah's kind and gentle words. Just like her brother, she is kind and considerate. 

"Thank you—"

"Sorah."

"Sorah," repeated Harry. "Thank you. You've actually made me feel better. Just like your brother did once."

"Vat did he do?" she asked curiously. She hadn't really heard the whole story from Hunter. 

Harry sighed, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"In second year, something happened. Something was petrifying students. Only Muggle born's, though. Nearly everyone thought I was responsible, because they thought I was the heir of Slytherin. The Heir of Slytherin had Returned; I remember one of the walls that were painted in blood had said. But really, it wasn't blood. I can't really remember now. Besides that, no one ... not even people from my own house, would talk to me. Anyone, but Hunter."

Heart beating faster, Sorah twitched her ears in a way to tell she was listening. 

Harry continued on, "He talked to me. He said he didn't believe it was me; that I, a second year, was capable of any of it. Of any of of the petrifying. He stayed by me. He studied and helped me with my homework. The fact that someone from the year above me was talking to me helped regain some of the others trust again." Harry breathed out a small laugh, looking at Sorah. "He's kind."

"He is," agreed Sorah.

Another silenced rolled through the air.

"Hybrids ... they can do magic ... with their hands? Mind?"

Sorah nodded.

"Can you show me? I know it's a strange question, but, it's quite interesting."

Slowly, Sorah unwrapped her tail from her waist and sat up again on her calf's. She placed her arm in front of her and the other gently underneath that one. The bracelet beheld on her wrist shone with tiny, little sparkles, creating a more vibrant glow. Harry watched with curious eyes behind his rounded glasses, leaning in a bit more. The shine that caught alight around her nimble fingers followed a trail, shining and sparking randomly. This was just a simple light that she evolved into doing little tricks. It was fun to advance her powers.

"Whoa. That is pretty cool." Harry nodded in mock approval. They both smiled and Sorah sat back against the tree again, her bracelet diminishing in colour.

"I should be heading back," he said.

Deciding it was getting too cold, Sorah stood up the same time Harry did. He was at least a few inches taller than her. She looked up slightly and felt that sudden lurch in her chest again. That's when she saw how vibrant and lovely his green eyes were. They were almost an emerald green. They were beautiful—could you call a boys eyes beautiful?

"Wanna come with me?"

Sorah nodded and walked with Harry. They got to the Great Hall and Sorah found her eye contact was made with the blonde from earlier. He frowned when he saw she was with Harry. Then, he glared. Whether it was aimed at Sorah or Harry, she couldn't tell. 

"He's not giving you any grief, is he?" said Harry in a low whisper.

Sorah shook her head.

"Ignore him. He's a bit of a prat."

For the rest of the day, Sorah spent in the Hogwarts library after she asked Harry where it was. Brook, Levi and Hunter were no where to be found. Hardly anyone was in the library and that put Sorah at ease. Although, by the end of her little 'session' she ended up straightening all the books and tucking all the chairs under the tables. It made her paranoid that everything wasn't in order. The Hogwarts Librarian appreciates the cleaning and organising, and smiled at Sorah as a thanks on the way out. 

 

* * *

 

Turns out the next day Sorah was out of luck. Hunter avoided talking to her as well as Brook. Then they went off to their lessons as normal, keeping at least a metre apart from each other and Levi had a tutor session—Hypnotising with her partner. 

Sorah wasn't about to go wandering about Hogwarts, so she stayed in her room, rearranging everything. She finally took out her suitcase and placed them in her and Levi's shared wardrobe. Each room fitted two people, specious enough for two and comfy as well. Her bedside table had now her art pad, pencil case and favourite book there. She even went out her way to polish everything with just the charm of her bracelet. Just the thought of leaving their room in a mess (though, it being Levi and Sorah, they were sure to keep the place pristine) made Sorah anxious, for whatever reason. 

Once she felt comfortable enough with the organisation of her room, a sudden loud knock happened on the door. She didn't need to say anything to know who it was. Millie came through the door with a tray within her hands. It looked to be a tray of milk and cookies. Sorah's favourite. 

"Levi's now got Latin," said Millie, sitting down beside Sorah. "She said something about wanting to also learn German."

Sorah took a cookie—that was still warm—off the tray and got the sippy cup with warm milk in it. Of course the sippy cup was without the beaker, but she loved the feeling of her hands around the handles. It was no secret to her family and little friends she had, she did sometimes have the lid for the beaker. She had no idea why. If Hazel and her crew of minions were to see her like this, she'd never live to see the light again. 

Millie took her glass and a cookie as well.

"Do you think I could learn German?" 

"If you tried," said Sorah, nibbling on her cookie. "It's easy to learn diff-erent languages. You just have to try."

"I supposed you are right," said Millie. "I mean, Levi knows Italian almost perfectly. And that's like you with English; you know it almost perfectly too."

Sorah giggled, "There es still a lot of words thet I still do not know."

"Well," started Millie, "learning a language is very exhilarating."

Sorah gave Millie an unamused smile and Millie laughed.

"That means exciting," explained Millie. "I could say that the dark to certain people, like Ashton, is very calamitous."

Sorah thought. "Thet ..." she thought harder. Millie was giving her a chance to find out what it meant. The dark can be very calamities; it can be very calamitous to Ashton. Scary? Ashton was afraid of the dark. Surly it meant something like scary. Sorah though of a stronger word. "Ghastly?"

Millie choked on her cookie. "Damn, Sorah-Bella, you sounded ever so British there." Sorah blushed, again giggling. "And yes. That's a very grand word."

"Okay..." Sorah poked Millie's cheek. "You cans stop with the big words now."

"Okie dokie lokie!" grinned Millie. 

The rest of the day, Sorah spent with Millie and her friends. They were playing some Muggle board games out of inquisitiveness. Levi ended up joining them as the rest of the evening was spent laughing and playful banter.

 

* * *

 

 The next few days kind of passed by like a blur for Sorah. Hunter and Brook were still avoiding each-other but her brother and Sorah were back on track. Hunter had come over and apologised after seeing Sorah in a certain situation. Meaning, she was resting her head on her arms and staring intensely at the books and quills in front of her in the Hogwarts Library. He came over, pulling her hand away from a useless quill and hugging her, saying sorry. She said it was fine and that she was sorry too. 

Turns out that Brook had said something (though he wouldn't say what) to upset Hunter and had an argument about it. Keep in mind, the two still weren't talking and Sorah could sense that her brother was still really down about it. 

Through the course of the week, changes came about Hogwarts. She's lost count of how many times she's come across Malfoy to have him tripping her and sneering at her. He even dared to pull at her tail once which she nearly hissed at him for. No one is ever to touch a Hybrid's tail. No one; only their mate was to. And Sorah doesn't have a mate. She could have any mate, but it's purely her soul mate who was allowed to. Whether it be a lover or just platonic. It could be both. You'd never know until you found out. But apart from that, touching ones tail is a sensitive matter and should not be touched, just purely out of respect. 

Sorah had hung out with Harry a few more times from either reading a book under a tree or coming across each other in the corridors of Hogwarts.

The Hufflepuff champion, Cedric Diggory, was receiving quite as much fame as Viktor Krum was. With his dark hair, naturally handsome face and grey eyes, he was catching a lot of girls attention and Sorah even remembered seeing some girls begging for his autograph of some sort. It made Sorah cringe. 

On Wednesday, Sorah caught Lavender Brown flirting with her brother and she had quickly pulled him away. After all, he didn't look very interested in talking to her. Anyway, she wasn't right for him. She was taller than him. Though that shouldn't change anything, but they wouldn't look right with each-other. 

Meanwhile, Sorah had been waiting for some sort of letter from either Declan or her real Papa. How long had it been? A month or two? Either way, Sorah still held hope. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him. Where was he? Is he alright? Could they ever see him again? Was their Mama with him? If she was, how was she? Whatever the answer, it was not found yet. 

But the power of believing was still there.

Harry at one point introduced Sorah to someone he thought she would get along with. Rubius Hagrid, grounds keeper of Hogwarts. Boy, was he right. They shared a lot in common. Although Hagrid did most of the talking, finding out that someone loved animals as much as she did was something very rare and a pleasure to Hagrid. Levi did like animals, especially unicorns, Hippogriff's and that, but she wasn't a fan of little creatures that were both ugly and nasty. Sorah would go near one and she found them interesting. Also, she didn't find them nasty or ugly. Sorah knew that every creature had its good side. Just like Hagrid did. That's how they got along so well.

To say the least, it cheered Harry up to see that he's done something to impress someone from another school.

Later on in the week, a lot of students, and most of the Slytherin's were wearing large, vibrant badges on the front of their robes. 

SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY — THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION.

This showed in red letters and then it would suddenly disappear and be replaced by something else. 

POTTER STINKS.

Sorah didn't give Harry any sympathy talk. Instead she was patient and helpful towards him. He told her he made him much happier to know he had a friend with him. The she-Hybrid was happy to know that. 

Finally, Sorah was introduced to one of Harry's friends and her name was Hermione. Like her, Hermione had an interest in studying and most importantly, books. Levi seemed a bit flustered around Hermione and was abnormally quiet. Sorah didn't question her. 

Despite this, the week was a hectic ride. 

Sorah was just on her way to dinner when, surprise, surprise, she found herself again in a dead lock of Malfoy. 

"You know," he began, the girl next to him with her arms around his, "I never knew that Ravenclaw, Stylan, had a sister. And here she is, standing right in front of me. Never bothered him before, half-blood and all, but I never knew he had even more dirty blood in him. What? Is he a mutt as well?"

The girl next to him gave an unnecessary loud laugh. She had dark, short hair with almost black eyes. Her face was a bit pug-like and not very nice looking. 

Sorah kept her head down, shaking her head.

"Why don't you ever talk? You really are a freak." the girl decided to join in. 

Again, Sorah said nothing, and looked anywhere but his mean, stormy eyes.

"Just so you know, everyone now knows that Stylan is the brother of you. I'd say most are alright with it, which is wrong. We've got too many half-breeds living in this excuse for a school this year, and now we're going to have one living here until seventh year. Merlin," he looked at the girl hanging off his arm. "This place has gone to the dogs." They then turned, laughing, the girl pulling at Sorah's right ear before going to the Entrance Hall. 

That didn't exactly affect her. What affected her the most was that Hunter was going to get the worst of it now, meaning it was all her fault.


	11. ❀The First Task❀

Sorah had woken up the next Monday morning feeling drained and out of place. Though interacting with humans is considered as mentally healthier, she needed her normal communication with animals. Even at home, with the woods they lived in, Sorah went out all the time just to be with the critters that roamed their land. As of this moment, they were surrounded by Hogwarts own forest. There must have been many creatures in there that would gladly allow the company of a half-breed. Problem is, Sorah didn't want to ask in person. She felt too shy at the approach. So, when swinging her legs over the covers, feet not able to touch the cold floor, an idea popped into her head.

Write a letter. 

This wasn't a letter to anyone. This was a letter to Professor Dumbledore. It was his school—he owned it. Therefore he should be in control whether she is allowed to journey into the forest or not.

She decided she was going to write the letter before going to her lesson. 

It started like this:

 

_**To Professor Dumbledore,**_

 

She stopped at the comma. Did that sound okay? God, she had never written a letter to a teacher before. She was so pathetic. Deciding it was for the best, she held out the muggle dictionary she got from Levi and tried using the correct grammar and words.

 

**_This may seem rather strange for me to write to you about this, but, I was wondering if I was to be able to travel into the Hogwarts forest? This is something I am allowed to do in Hybithia, as animals welcome me in and treat me as one of their own._ **

**_I apologise if I have bothered you._ **

**_Thank you for your time —_ **

**_Sorah-Bella Stylan ~ Hybithia_ **

 

The she-Hybrid read over this at least five more times, correcting any mistakes and what not before going down to the common room of their little stay-here and searching for Lilian. Though she didn't want to talk to the she-Hybrid because she rarely did, Lilian had an owl and that would be perfect. 

Soon enough, she spotted her with Millie and Sorah was glad it wasn't with the entire Six. When she was only a meter or so away from them, Millie smiled brightly and gestured her to come faster. She obeyed with her head down and eventually sat down with them.

"Where's Levi?" asked Millie.

"Studying..." mumbled Sorah, looking up.

"What's that?" Lilian pointed her tanned finger at the letter Sorah was holding. 

She held it up. "I-I vas vonderin' if, uh, I could use Voleclaw?" 

Lilian nodded without any hesitation.

"Of course! You can use him whenever you like," she said, rubbing at her tired eyes. She yawned slightly. "He's actually in the Owlery in Hogwarts because that's where his own kind is. He seems happier there."

Sorah nodded and stood up. With a quick wave to them, she set off towards the Owlery. That's when she realised she had no idea where she was going. Before she had time to panic, she spotted someone who was headed to what looked like a path a tall tower. And then she saw there was a sign that said Owlery. Just about. Again, she didn't have her glasses on. She couldn't even find them, which put her on edge. Maybe she should just wear them all the time so they wouldn't get lost. 

Nope. That wasn't going to happen.

Quietly and slowly following the person, she made her way up to the Owlery, hoping she'd be able to find Voleclaw in the midst of all the owls. 

Noticing that the person in front of her was Malfoy—on his own—Sorah stayed possibly even more quiet. She had never seen him away from his friends. Sorah wondered if he was the same as he had been. Nevertheless, she kept herself as quiet as possible. She wasn't scared of him, if anyone thought. In fact, she didn't find Malfoy intimidating at all. It was his friends she didn't particularly like. Malfoy looked like he wouldn't be the one to hurt anybody. He'd get someone else to do the job.

Once in the Owlery, Malfoy got to his owl who affectionately nipped at his pale fingers.

It was rather chilly here; this was probably because the walls here were made of stone. Unlike Hybithia and inside of the Hogwarts castle, it didn't have any fires alight so it was rather cold.

She knew how to call to Voleclaw from watching Lilian do it quite often, but she didn't want to draw the attention of Malfoy. So for the time being, she kept quiet behind the door. 

Soon enough, Malfoy was done and had sent a letter of some sort. He was coming Sorah's way and Sorah stood frozen on the spot, not knowing what to do. Maybe if she just played it cool and walked in as if she had just got here, everything would be okay. Not standing there like a weirdo any longer, she decided that waiting for a boy to go out just so she could have the Owlery to herself was, maybe, the tiniest bit silly. She walked through the door just as Malfoy was coming up the stairs. They nearly bumped into each other and did the side-to-side step awkward dance when letting someone pass. Malfoy said nothing but stepped forwards, took Sorah's arms and moved her around. Might this be added: the motion was gentle as he held her upper arms. 

"Sorry," he mumbled before escaping. 

Sorah lowered her Hybrid-ears suspiciously. That was weird. He apologised. He didn't answer at her rudely or any of the matter. What happened to her dirty blood? Whatever the case, Sorah knew it was because his friends weren't here. It was clear Malfoy had a reputation of some sort.

She made her way down the stairs and saw all the fluttering owl's staring at her.

Bringing her two hands and crossing them over, making a little hole between her two thumb-knuckles, she brought her upper lip to her knuckle and blew softly, attracting a light bird whistle. Some owl's stopped to listen and suddenly, a small grey and black owl swooped down and Sorah spread her arm out for it to land at the wrist of hers. Voleclaw landed freely and bit at her Hybrid-ears when she brought her arm in. Voleclaw and Sorah got along really well. It's as if Sorah could communicate with any critter.

She lifted the letter. "To Professor Dumbledore?" she said with a smile. Voleclaw flapped his wings in approval and then set off.  She watched around for a while, tending to some owl's before leaving.

It was still Sunday, and had no more tutoring, so Sorah decided to wander around Hogwarts for a while. Maybe she could find Harry and see how he is considering the first task is tomorrow. Or maybe he wanted to have some time alone. He must be afraid. Sorah definitely would be. 

A thought set into her mind as she aimlessly wandered around. For whatever reasons, they are going to turning into their Hybrids a year early. She figured it was because they were not to be learning that much this year. If anything, this year was only based upon revising bit by bit for their exams next year. What better way to learn to change into their Hybrids? It was an examination. So, in other words, they are going to get it over and done with. One less exam to worry about next year.

She shook her head at the thought and stared ahead of her in time.

She was just walking down an abandoned corridor when it wasn't so abandoned after all. How comes she didn't scent them before? Hazel and her friends were hanging out there. Before she could turn back, however, she was unfortunately caught by them.

"Stylan!" shouted Hazel. "What are you doing here? Where are your little friends?"

Sorah didn't want to deal with Hazel. Not today, at least. Then again, she hasn't had a 'conversation' with her in ages. Might as well get it over and done with.

Hazel walked over and crossed her arms over her chest, smirking. Sorah then realised that Hazel's fangs were gone. Looks like they fell out during Hogwarts. Sorah's were still painfully wobbly as well as Millie's and Ashton's.

If she just stared at Hazel hard enough she could take control of the dim-witted she-Hybrids' mind. She did just that. She glared. Hard and forcefully. Hazel seemed to pick up on it because she hissed, pupils increasingly getting smaller with the mount of hatred she had for the shorter girl.

Suddenly, a hand was wrapped around Sorah's throat and she was pushed back against the hard brick of Hogwarts' walls. A whimper escaped Sorah and she struggled against Hazel's death grip. 

"Unfortunately, homicide is illegal," growled Hazel, other hand gripping at her left Hybrid-ear. "Don't think all Hybrids can be companions, Sorah-Bella."

Sorah bared her teeth. "What's thet supposed to mean?"

Hazel's friends behind her laughed. Hazel made a mockingly shocked and happy face. "It speaks! Surprise, surprise."

The pressure on Sorah's neck increased and tears welled up at the edge of the girl's eyes from lack of oxygen. Her windpipe was now blocked and she was wheezing painfully.

Having enough, she grabbed at Hazel's hand around her neck and tried pulling her off. Hazel didn't budge, and she gripped at Sorah's Hybrid-ear, pushing the younger down to the ground, laughing. 

"What even are you?" hissed Hazel, bending down to Sorah's level as the others kicked her. Someone pulled on her wing and she cried, trying to jerk away from them. "You're not even a Hybrid, are you?"

"I am!" Sorah growled, wrapping her tail tightly around her thigh. Another kick to her leg made her turn her face away from Hazel. 

"Your brother isn't a Hybrid. he's a wizard." Hazel bent down to her level, lifting her hand up and ruffling Sorah's hair mockingly. She had a huge, ugly grin on her face. "Something must have fucked up in your blood line. It's the same with the Evan twins. I heard their parents are wizards. What is it these days. Too many of us are fucking the wrong kind."

Sorah rolled her eyes at this comment. How on Earth was she meant to explain that to Hazel? She doesn't even know of her real parents all that much. 

"C'mon, up you come." Hazel almost lightly gripped at her wrist, pulling her to her feet. "Do you get where I am coming from?"

"Not really, no," said Sorah. It was said so bluntly that the shock on Hazel's face was genuine. She released her clutch and Sorah's wrist, taking a step back with her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. It was like this sort of statement was the most surprising news she had seen/heard all day. And maybe it was. Sorah had just spoken back to her, voice dripping with sarcasm. "What is it, Hazel? Why do you hate me so much?"

She knew for a fact she was not going to get an answer. Instead, Hazel looked away to gaze at her friends. They all nodded and suddenly, Sorah was being dragged along the corridor and by the stairs. 

"Are you really going to throw me off the edge?" If irony was the only placement to Hazel's break, then Sorah would use it against her. She was't being evil; she was just sick of Hazel treating her like crap.

"You're lucky we aren't actually planning that."

"Didn't you say homicide was illegal?"

She was then pushed by one of Hazel's friends to the floor, scuffing her palms. She hissed quietly. When she turned around, she found the Hybrid were all lining in front of her, arms thrust out. The glare of each bracelet let Sorah get into the fight or flight instinct. 

As quick as lightening, she swiped forwards, kicking at one of the Hybrids shins. They yelped, falling to the floor. Sorah stood up, her Hybrid senses easily dodging a shot of light that nearly hit the side of her head. 

"Move your _fuckin'_ ass!" screamed Hazel.

Sorah felt a hand grab at her tail but the hand was so pitifully weak she easily swept it away and around her thigh. Gracefully, she used her hand to reach the railing at the stairs and swiftly jumped on the handrail, her converses slipping down, avoiding each newel, dodging each shot of Hybrility. The girls up the stairs were still yelling at each other and Sorah managed to get to the ground floor before she was gravely injured by one of those ignorant Hybrids. 

With a sigh and a satisfied smirk playing on her lips, she dusted herself down as if nothing had happened and went on her way.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, the atmosphere around the rooms were a buzz of excitement and anxiety. Students who wished the best of luck to Cujo were mostly in their right state to be excited. Others stayed out of it and just gave him so much of a glance before returning to their normal morning routine. 

Sorah sat at one of the tables, flipping through her potions notes for the homework she was currently doing. She believed that Levi was still asleep since she had gotten back late last night to their room. She told the younger she was doing her potions homework. When Sorah questioned why she didn't just wait until morning, Levi insisted she had to get it done otherwise she'd panic about what homework she had to do. 

"Hey, Stylan?"

The she-Hybrid looked up to see the familiar light, red eyes of Cujo Brandaze. For whatever reason he wanted to talk with her, so she politely closed her book, not before marking it and paid her full attention to the older boy 

"Do you have any tactics?"

Sorah raised an eyebrow, one Hybrid-ear flopping to the side to show her confusion.

Cujo ran a shaky hand through his brown hair, and ruffled it. "Like, Hybrid's say you're smart with any type of creature. We have to battle dragons—the Potter boy told me."

Sorah shrugged, giving him an apologetic look. However, the Hybrid had no intentions on giving up and pulled out a chair next to Sorah, sitting next to her. 

"Come on, Stylan, I know you have a voice, and you're brilliant with animals," he all but pleaded. 

With a huff, Sorah laid her elbow on the tablet, head in hand, looking passed the boy. She wanted to help him, and she did have some way to tame a dragon. She just didn't know whether it would be allowed or whether it even worked. Plus, she had never been encountered with a dragon, this is just what she has read. 

"Any info?" he asked.

She really wanted to ask him why he had only been asking her this now; he's had a couple of weeks to prepare, yet he decided to ask her now. 

" _Ja_ , I have a few," she said bashfully.

"Then tell me," he urged some more, a desperate glint in his eyes that reflected the light behind Sorah. 

Sorah decided she just needed to suck it up and take a deep breath. It wasn't as if there was a lot of talking; talking in general made her skin cruel and feel nauseous. "You know ... dragons, they get funny around grass—" she started.

"What?" said Cujo, leaning more forwards.

She was being too quiet. Again, she took a deep breath and this time, cleared her throat with a small cough. 

"Dragons love grass," she stated and knew that Cujo had heard her. He nodded for her to go on. "Take a few pieces of grass, like, a handful at the most. As the dragon es to come near you, hold up your hand with grass, letting them know you are not armed with any sort to harm them. Should slow down, and stop. Notice the eyes of the dragon dilates and closes in on the grass. It's like a spell to them, they love grass and get ... high from it."

With a nod of acknowledgement, Cujo went on, "So, what you're trying to say is, grass is their drug."

"Basically..." mumbled Sorah. She nodded awkwardly, seemingly a bit uneasy and intimidated. She shrunk back into herself, now burying her head in the world of potions again. 

"Thanks," said Cujo, getting up from his chair and patting her shoulder. 

She nodded with a soft smile. 

"Sorahhh~" sang a familiar voice. 

Their arms wrapped around Sorah's shoulders as they rested their chin on the top of her head. Instantly, Sorah knew who it was, hence why she did not jump away at the gentle hug. 

"That's number three" —a pale hand pointed to the answer to the question on the book. Paragraph three was only a few lines and Sorah shook her head at how fast her best friend managed to catch it. But she had already done it. 

" _Gracias_ ," - "Thank you," she spoke quietly, quickly jotting down a short answer. 

"How many languages can you speak?" she said jokingly.

"Two and a half," Sorah laughed lightly. 

"Two and a half?" echoed Levi, finally removing herself from Sorah and taking the seat next to her. Like Sorah, she was wrapped up warmly, but different colour situation; a greyish, black scarf and a black trench coat and black mittens. Basically everything about her today is black—this is what Sorah liked to call 'Levi rebelling against society' rule. 

Sorah had a light purple scarf with pastel blue mittens and a dark blue parka jacket. These things she still had to put on and realisation hit her that she had been too caught up in her homework she didn't notice that most Hybrid's in here are looking ready to go. 

"German, English and some Polish," she said with a small, dimpled smile, now starting to pack up her stuff. "I know, like, the littlest of Spanish phrases."

"While you put on your stuff, I can head upstairs and put this away." Before Sorah could protest, Levi had already collected her stuff and ran back to their shared room. Looking at the other chair that wasn't occupied by Levi, she put on her coat, scarf, and mittens. It was undoubtedly hot in the room, so with light feet, Sorah waited for Levi to return to her. 

"Everyone, follow me!"

The sudden loud voice of Professor Holden brought Sorah back to reality, and she looked to see the students gathering around and Cujo already moving out the door with the Headmaster. It was just in time as Levi had appeared next to Sorah, out of breath.

"I'm so unfit," she breathed, doubling over and coughing. Awkwardly, Sorah patted her back with a small eye roll. The dramatics of Levi, honestly. 

"Don't die on me. I need someone to make my tea for me when I'm sick."

The two girls kept at the back of the crowd, knowing that they won't have to be in the same seats as the Hybithian students. They could easily find Hunter somewhere. 

Once they were there, Levi grabbed Sorah's wrists with the bracelets and squinted her eyes to find the teens they were looking for. 

"See them?" lisped Sorah, ducking away from any prying eye. 

"Mmm..." 

Further along and there was still no sign of the two boys. Although, Sorah doubted they'd be sitting next to each-other as to her knowledge they still aren't talking.

"There!" Levi pointed her finger to where Hunter, Michael and another girl was sitting. A girl that looked very much like Gryffindor with her red and gold scarf. With the struggle of clambering over students, they managed to make it to him and he greeted them with a warm smile. 

"Haiii! I'm Cody!" said the supposedly Gryffindor, huge smile on her face and flush cheeks from the cold. Sorah lowered her Hybrid-ears from the noise, but waved nonetheless. 

"Hi Cody, my names Levi," said the ginger-haired girl and the two shook hands rather fast. Sorah made the indication that she'd rather not touch hands and left it at that. "You Gryffindor?"

" _Oui_!" - "Yes!" she said, still bright smiles. "And it's the best house in the entire school!"

"Not true!" argued Micheal who was sitting on Hunter's right. "Ravenclaw is the best!"

"Gryffindor's have the best parties, though," said Cody with a smug grin. 

"At least we're intelligent," shrugged Michael and Cody stuck her tongue out at him playfully. 

Sorah could get used to Cody if she was a friend of Hunter's.

"Say, Cody?" Levi, who was on Sorah's left leaned over slightly to talk to Cody who was on Sorah's right. "Do you know anything about Hermione?"

"Hermione? Hermione Granger?" said Cody, a bit too loudly to what Sorah's guessed Levi's liking. "Harry Potter's friend?"

Levi flushed, " _Shh!_ " she hissed. 

Before anything else could be said, there was loud announcement and cheer. It was bad and Sorah hated it. Why did everyone have to be so God damn loud? (And excuse me for using the Lord's name in vain). The crowed screamed, gasped, yelled as Cedric did whatever he had to do to get past the dragon he was currently up against. 

The tasks of Cedric, Fluer and Kirk went by in a blur. All too soon it was Cujo's turn and Sorah actually made the effort to sit up and watch as best she could with her poor eyesight at the small figure that resembled Cujo's stiff from. By what she could gather, the dragon he was battling was the Romanian Longhorn, all green and huge tusks. Sorah also wondered whether he'd follow her advise and had gotten the patch of grass. 

"What's he holding?" asked Michael, leaning in more and saw that he was holding his hand up high, indeed having something within his grip. 

That answered Sorah's question. 

"Why has he not got anything to defend himself?" demanded Levi in a wide panic. 

The smile was evident on Sorah's face and she leaned back, feeling accomplished. To anyone watching her they'd think she were crazy to be smiling at an alarming picture. 

At the sight of Cujo, there was a huge roar and flames fired across the pitch. Cujo didn't seem to flinch, and all he did was breath in and out, carefully and gradually stepping closer to his target—the golden egg. A good tactic with creatures was to remain calm. Sadistic dragons love it when their victim is terrified.

Finally, the Romanian Longhorn caught his eyes and screamed an almighty roar. Though chained, the dragon launched itself at Cujo's spot and there was high pitches squealing and gasps surrounding them. The dragon growled, but then started stepping back, quite slowly. 

"What's it doing?" said Cody, her high voice still at its norm but curious settling into it. 

Everything became noticeably more quiet, and everyone was leaning in more to see what was happening. 

"No way, is he taming it with ... grass?"

Low murmurs of whispers erupted around the students and Sorah now saw that the thing he was keeping in his death grip was grass. He had listened to her, and she felt so proud of herself ... and him as well. Grass worked with most dragons, not all dragons, and luckily this dragon was the right one. 

As the dragon was backing away, occasionally stalling the grass in Cujo's hand, he sneakily went around it, still facing said dragon and had his back to the golden egg. Gently, he lowered the grass to the stone rocks and let the beast sniff at it, eyes dilating. He picked up the golden egg and the cheering began up again as the speaker, Bagman again, declared that the event was over and to remove the dragon from the premises. 

There was particularly loud yelling and whooping from the Hybithian's as they screamed and shouted for their champion. Sorah may of been incredibly relived and happy for Cujo, but it was a bit melodramatic. She felt embarrassed. As did Levi, because she shrunk back into her seat, taking off her glasses and face palming. 

"Are Hybrid's always like this?" said Cody, looking over at the wild bunch. 

"Does it look like any time soon Sorah will be doing that?" chuckled Hunter, shaking his head. 

"Yeah, you're really quiet," said Cody with a nod of approval.

"No shit," snorted Michael and again, Cody snarled back playfully by giving him the finger.

"Cody, the Lord is watching," growled Hunter, slapping her hand down.

"He can kiss my ass then."

They gave a small laugh at the girl. 

"Guess it's Harry's turn!"

All students perked up again at the sound of Harry Potter's name. This is when Sorah's heart started pumping blood around her body at mega speed. What if something ... something terrible were to happen to him? He's too young to even be doing this. Sorah felt a certain sort of hatred towards the one who said he still had to participate in the tournaments. Isn't it clear he's not fit for any of these? The boy's hardly 5'5 yet. 

The dragon, and what Sorah saw to be a Hungarian Horntail, flew and spat fire at where it saw Harry. A loud gasp filled its way across the crowd of students and teachers as Harry ducked to hide from the huge creature. The boy raised his wand, looking anywhere but the staring faces of students and shouted something Sorah couldn't quite make out. 

Nothing happened for a moment, as Harry kept himself hidden from the dragon and then there was a swift sound. Most heads turned to look and find what the source of the noise was when they all saw a broomstick (a very nice looking broomstick) and for Harry to hurry along and jump on. This way, he went straight for the golden egg, but, unfortunately, the dragon spat its angry fire and nearly caught his hand, giving the Boy Who Lived no time to pick up the thing. 

"Go on, 'arry!" encouraged Cody, hands cupping over her mouth to make herself heard over the yells of others. Of course he didn't hear, but it was still a kind gesture. 

Sorah saw that the brunette was getting nowhere, but before she could judge any further, Harry then shot straight up into the air. The Horntail, protective of her eggs and wondering what the enemy was up to, followed him, her long neck stretching up and snatching at him like a hungry snake. To her disappointment, Sorah couldn't see that far up into the sky, since it was too bright and hurt her eyes, causing them to water. Biting back a groan, she let her eyes rest, burying herself into her scarf. 

" _Whoa!_ Look at him go!" said Hunter with a huge smile, pointing.

Sorah looked again and saw he had dived straight down, never stopping and fast towards the golden egg. The poor Horntail must have been confused as it roared, looking everywhere for the supposed egg-snatcher. And it worked, as he finally got the egg and an erupt of cheers filled the arena. 

Sorah gasped, happy, and started clapping.

"Will you look at that! Our youngest champion was the quickest to get his egg!" Bagman called through the speakers, clearly astonished. 

 " _Whoa!_ " said Hunter, a huge grin on his face. "Now th-thet vas amazing!"

"Not amazing— _bloody brilliant!_ " Cody whooped again, jumping up to her feet and clapping with great force.


	12. ❀The Forbidden Forest❀

That evening, Levi and Sorah made their way from the Hogwarts castle to their Hybithian dorms. They were prepared to know what was to come—a bunch of Hybrids celebrating for Cujo's victory. And they were right, for as they entered; confetti everywhere, Hybrids running about and the place was just a plain mess.

"You did it! _Thank you_!"

Sorah was suddenly engulfed in a huge hug, an arm that went around her neck, and a hand ruffling her hand which sent her nearly to the floor. The person must of been Cujo, because who else would be saying thank you to her?

"Brandaze, get off of her," grumbled Levi, pushing off his arm so Sorah could breath.

"Sorry kiddo, but she basically saved my life." He gave a huge grin and Sorah couldn't help but smile gratefully back. The boy was a goofball, really.

"I'm not a kid," said Levi, crossing her arms over her chest, eyes twinkling in amusement. "I'm fourteen-years-old, mate."

He shrugged, messing up his hair a bit. "Still legally a child."

"In the muggle world."

"And in the wizarding world."

"Not in the Hybrilion world, we're classed as teens, and not children," said Levi with the shake of her head. "Honestly, why are people classed as children until eighteen and then classed as young adult? Where do the teenagers come into? You don't go from a child to a young adult."

"You make logical sense," said Cujo, impressed by Levi's arguments.

"Thank you," said Levi, bowing a bit in her wake.

"Cujo! Come on, you Mongrel, open the egg!" a boy in supposedly Cujo's year shouted. "We must know the clue to the next tournament!"

"It's a clue for the next tournament?" said someone excitedly.

"Yes, you blonde bimbo!"

"That's not nice!"

With a roll of her eyes, Levi gestured for the two of them to sit down and Sorah nodded, following the ginger to their now normal desks to sit.

"You should finish that Potions homework while you're here," suggested Levi and Sorah groaned, face-planting the table. "Okay; if I do it for you, will you help me with Hypnosis lessons?"

Sorah nodded eagerly. Anything to avoid Potions, because she was absolutely abominable at it, and would not be able to brew up one to save her life. She wouldn't admit it, but she was jealous of Levi's talent.

"You don't wanna miss this, though," said Sorah, gesturing towards the crowd of Hybrids. Levi had to lean in when she saw that Sorah was talking, in fear she would miss a word. Luckily she didn't because she nodded, seemingly understanding.

"Should I open it?" said Cujo, examining the golden egg.

"Hang on!" said one of his friends, slightly taller than Cujo with broad shoulders and a stern face. "What if it's something you need to work on your own?"

There were murmurs of agreement but others stood out confused.

"What?" said Sorah, turning to look at her friend. Even Levi looked as equally confused as most of the Hybrids did.

"Come on guys, we're part animal—can't you tell when he opens it, it's not gonna be the clue—"

"Jase, we're not part dragon," said another one of their friends, eyebrow raised and what looked to be tiger ears, twitching.

The boy, Jase, shook his head. "That's not what I meant. What I mean is that something tells me that if you open up the egg, it won't give you the clue you are looking for in this type of atmosphere."

" _Pfft_ ," puffed Cujo, giving a wave of his hand to shove off his friend. "Nonsense, you don't know what you're talking about." With that being said, he took a deep breath and opened up the egg.

Inside of the egg was empty and hallow—however, that was the least of everyone's worries as when Cujo opened it, a horrible screeching and wailing sound blast itself around the room. Sorah immediately put her hands to her ears while her Hybrid ears she pressed tightly to her head, squeezing her eyes shut.

Soon enough, the wailing stopped and Sorah let go of her ears, yet still kept her Hybrid ones at bay, feeling terrified in some way.

"What did I _fucking_ tell you? you absolute _knob!_ "

There were a few laughs and Sorah covered her face, laughing as well. 

"None of that language, Hope," said Professor Cadwell, coming into the room. "Can we please quieren down? Anyone would think you're a bunch of wild animals."

This comment caused everyone to bust out laughing and even the Headmaster just realised what he had said. He chuckled and walked away from the wild students, possibly to his room.

"I expect you to all be in bed by ten!" he called and closed the door to his office and own room.

"Do you wanna get to bed?" said Levi.

A yawn was what she got in response and took that as a yes.

"I'll be there in a bit, so you head up on your own." She started to get up and Sorah cocked her head to the side, mentally asking why Levi wouldn't be there. "Gonna catch up with Evan. He's been looking a little down lately."

"Tell him I said hi," she said with a soft, dimpled smile.

"I will." She nodded and then she was gone, in search for her twin.

Sorah hoped the older twin was alright. Much like her and Levi, he didn't have very reliable friends.

She shook her head and decided it best to go to bed.

 

* * *

 

December always brought the more happier side of people, especially at the start of it. Little specks of snow started to make its appearance and Sorah couldn't be more merrier. It was soon, in twenty five days, to be Christmas, which was her most favourite holiday out of all. Around Hogwarts, students were now up to wearing their scarfs, cloaks/coats and other warm attire. Sorah gladly went around in her Hybithian uniform in the week days with her normal scarf, coat and mittens. In the Great Hall she sat next to Hunter, who was finally talking to Brook. More often than not, Cody had appeared by Sorah's side, talking aimlessly about her day, not caring of how loud her voice is. Not that Sorah minded, it was nice to have someone the complete opposite to her by her side. She might have made a new friend.

"So your friend, Levi?" Cody was talking, and by her side, a ginger cat with black-like freckles dotted on its nose and around his eyes padded along side her. "She asked about Granger the other day?"

"Granger?" Sorah said quietly—it seeming much louder in the deserted hallways they were currently walking.

"Hermione Granger," said Cody, casually pulling out a sweet from her Gryffindor robes and popping it in her mouth. That girl had such a sweet tooth. "I'm not exactly on a first-name basis with her. We've only talked twice, and that's because I was struggling with my Herbology homework."

Sorah only nodded, keeping a straight eye out for any other students. Levi was currently in a Mind Reading session, hence why the she-Hybrid wasn't with them.

"You don't talk much, I've noticed," she said.

Sorah shrugged, not meaning to be rude, but meaning to want to drop the subject at hand. She's just shy.

This girl; her name was Cody, slight French accent, soft, brown eyes, wavy dark, caramel coloured hair and incredibly hyperactive—she had something that sparked Sorah's interest. She had a light and most likely potential future. It intrigued Sorah to know end—this girl was definitely a keeper in Sorah's eyes anyway.

"There's someone I want to introduce you to." Cody had said this some time later, since Sorah was just following the younger around Hogwarts like a lost puppy. "I think you'll like him."

"How come?" murmured Sorah. 

"You love animals, right?" she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And yes, she was right, Sorah outright adored animals with all her heart. She was sure there was some sort of special connection there. "Don't answer that," Cody continued on, the two now going down the hill of Hogwarts, as if they were going towards the Forbidden Forest. (Sorah had found out the name from dear Hunter himself). "The thing you and Hagrid both have in common is your love for animals and also your naïvety of thinking all animals are in no way dangerous."

Sorah flushed, abashed by her comment. It's not that she didn't think all animals weren't dangerous, she just refused to except they were any different from humans, Hybrids, wizards, witches et cetera. She also didn't bother to tell Cody that Harry Potter had already introduced Sorah to Hagrid once.

"Hagrid will have you welcomed in open arms," she continued to ramble on, not once taking a second to breath. "Not that others think poorly of these creatures, but I guess we have a lot more common sense than you or Hagrid or any other ones who are like you to think that beasts like dragons are dangerous. Oh, did you know that apparently when Harry Potter was in first year Hagrid kept a dragon called Norbert but then after some time of it growing and growing he had to send it off to Romania with Harry's best friends brother Charlie?"

Some would find the hyperactivity of this girl frustrating, but not Sorah. For it goes through one ear and out the other when it comes to rambling. (Or at the fact that she just doesn't talk that much, therefore resulting in other people talking is a comfort). She was taking in some of the bits, like when Cody was explaining this man called Hagrid kept a dragon. Sorah always listened more than she talked.

By the time they reached Hagrid's hut, the sky was starting to change colour again, meaning that it was almost evening. They had yet to have dinner, but since it was winter, this kind of time it would get darker at about 5 p.m., and dinner in the Great Hall starts at about 6 p.m.

Cody gave a swift knock at the door as her kitten, Gizmo his name was, gracefully jumped up and sat perfectly on her shoulder. The both of them were small, especially the kitten, so he was well aware of how safe the girls shoulder was. Soon enough he'd be too grown up and big to even be carried by her (well, knowing Cody she wouldn't care and carry him around her much she wanted) so he's taking advantage of his size.

The door swung open to reveal a really, really, big man with a bushy brown beard, eyebrows and hair. His eyes were black, and almost beetle like—his eyes instantly widened upon seeing the two girls. Obviously he wasn't expecting guests today. Sorah had to step back a bit, eyes wide and wings erect with astonishment from the door being flung open.

"Alrigh', Cody?" he greeted with a huge smile.

" _Bonjour_ , 'agrid!" returned Cody with a small wave. "I've brought a friend I thought I'd introduce to you!"

"Ah, Sorah!" he beamed. "Cody's told me all about you!"

Cody giggled ans patted at Sorah's shoulder reassuringly. "She's really shy, 'agrid. Is it okay if we come in?"

"Of course!" he announced happily and held the door open for the two girls.

Sorah let Cody go first and then she followed through right after, avoiding the man's kind look and let herself get used to the warm, and might she add, weird smelling hut while it lasts.

"I'll be feedin' Madam Maxim's 'orses in a bit, if you'd like to help?"

At the mention of horses, Sorah immediately perked up, her ears twitching in interest.

"Blimey," said Hagrid, taking a sit down and suddenly there was huge, grey hound by his side—again, this made Sorah perk up a little bit more. "Oh, this is Fang. Wanna say hello?"

Instinctively, Sorah reached out her hand and the grey hound got up and slowly walked over to her. As soon as his muzzle connected with her outstretched fingers, he warmed up and let her stroke him. Fang let his paws up and rest on Sorah's lap, leaning into her affectionate caresses.

"Whoa," said Cody, eyes sparkling yet again.

"That's what I was thinkin'," Hagrid nodded in agreement at Cody's awe. "I've never seen Fang warm up to someone so quickly."

"This is why I brought her here, 'agrid," said Cody, sitting up again and letting her eyes wander to the giant. "Hybrids all around have a special talent—one that separates them from the rest in their own way."

Sorah wanted to groan, but instead cast her distraction on Fang, who now not only rested his paws in her lap but his head as well.

Not only was Cody bright and bubbly, she was also sharp-witted. How in the hell she figured what Sorah's problem was, she had no idea. There must have been a book on it somewhere in Hogwarts, plus, some were allowed to take up on classes such as Hybrid Studies, like Hybrids have Wizarding Studies. Sorah's guess was Cody's knowledge of Hybrids was because she took these studies.

"Are you saying you have known wha' her special talent is?" said Hagrid, now eyeing the she-Hybrid. Sorah shifted from feeling intimidated and lowered her head.

"Animals, 'agrid, animals." To indicate to this, Cody lifted her arm lazily to point at Fang and Sorah.

"Come with me." Standing up now, Hagrid called off Fang, but Fang wouldn't move from his comfort. Sorah had to whisper gently to Fang, leading him off. He gave her hand a long, slobbery lick before retreating and staring longingly at her. "It's alright, Fang. You'll see her again soon enough."

Sorah sure hoped so.

They were all led out do the hut and found themselves a few minutes later in front of huge, winged-horses.

"God..." said Cody, stepping back in case one decided to lash out.

"Easy now, they're completely harmless," said Hagrid with a small grin. "You just need to feed them and show them you're free from any weapons for them to start trusting you. However, if you've got a small talent, you should be fine, Sorah." He nodded towards her and she stared wide-eyed at the pegasi. "Go on then, try."

_Oh, he wants me to tame them first._

Slowly, Sorah put up her hand as not to scare them, and the first one stepped back a bit, causing the others to copy their leader. She then paused her movements. Thinking, he leaned down until she was sitting on her knees. This trick is to show she doesn't overpower them, that she will gladly submit to them to show she is their friend. It seemed to work because curiosity rather than fear got the better of the first horse, and it leaned its long neck forwards, enough for Sorah to reach out again and touch at the horses muzzle. Ever so gently, she stroked across it, smiling at the tingly feeling it left up her arm.

"There we go, no harm done." Hagrid's voice startled her a bit, but the pegasi did not pull away. In fact, it leaned forwards more until Sorah was hugging around its neck in a sign of comforting her. She chose this moment to slowly stand up, still hugging it. "Can you believe some of the students around Hogwarts dare pest them?"

"What?" whispered Sorah, looking into one of the pegasi's eyes as it looked down.

"More like one of the Slytherin's..." sighed Hagrid.

Cody let out a groan of annoyance. "Don't tell me—Malfoy?"

"Actually, no," said Hagrid, "only a couple of his friends. Malfoy's cruel, but he ain't evil."

Cody snorted. "Wouldn't be too sure 'bout that."

"How'd ya feel, Sorah?" asked Hagrid, breaking away the conversation.

Sorah held out her hand for the whiskey, and Hagrid knew straight away what she was asking for. He took it out of his pocket and all of the horses stood straight, eyes glistening with want. "Here you go..." she crooned, letting them have as much as they needed/wanted. "Good boy..."

"How do you know it's a boy?" said Cody.

"He told me," said Sorah, hand scratching at the horses ear. The others seemed to want her attention too since they started gathering more around her, keeping her comfy and warm and she gladly gave them all the hugs they needed. She knew from the very start that she could understand animals, it was her gift. She just has yet for others to tell her that.

"It's amazing to see them so calm in an unfamiliar environment," said Cody.

"It's not just a 'ybrids' effect, las," said Hagrid with a short nod. "You'd be fantastic as someone to take care of animals, Sorah."

The tingling sensation had not only made her way up her arm, but even around her whole body.

"Oh! Is that the time?"

Eyes wide, Sorah looked across at Hagrid who was checking an old pocket watch and then stuffing it back in.

"You girls better be off then—it's almost dark, and Professor Dumbledore will wan' you both in the Great 'All by 6!"

The leader pegasi, named Cola, gave Sorah a little nudge to send her away, a knowing look in his eyes.

"You'll see us soon," he neighed, again nudging her with his nose. She stumbled a bit, but picked herself back up, nodding and bowing a little to the wise-old pegasi.

A hand encircled around her wrist and she was then being pulled away by Cody, both saying goodbye to Hagrid. Halfway up the hill, the questions made their surface from Cody's mouth, coming out in a blubbering mess. "So, what were you two talking about? He seemed genially interested and fascinated with you—and yes, I can tell those things. Also, did you like Hagrid? Well of course! You've met him before!"

" _Ja_ ," nodded Sorah, and Cody actually stopped, looking at the older girl. "He's nice."

"I know right!" beamed Cody, skipping along and dragging Sorah with her. "Oh! I forgot to tell you! Professor Dumbledore wants to see you!"

Sorah only nodded her response and the both went all the way to the Great Hall where most students were now sitting for dinner.

"About Professor Dumbledore, you'll be seeing him this evening, possibly after dinner."

Both separated, Cody retreated back to her normal Gryffindor table and Sorah went over to the Ravenclaw's table where her brother, Brook, their friends and Levi sat.

"Where have you been?" asked Levi.

"Animals..." mumbled Sorah, smiling at Levi.

"Okay," the other responsed, looking around at the delicious food.

After dinner, Sorah made sure she let Levi know she wasn't going to be back in their room for a bit, and waited outside the hall. It wasn't long until most of the students had departed and Professor Dumbledore had come out, indicating for her to follow him.

"I got your letter, Ms. Stylan," said Professor Dumbledore. Sorah nodded up at him, fiddling with her hands in front of her. "I will allow you to seek your adventures in the Forbidden Forest. But I must warn you of potential danger."

Sorah nodded again, listening closely. If there was danger, so be it. It couldn't add up to the amount of times she nearly came across peculiar things in the Hybithian Forest.

"Do be off with you." Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half moon glasses. "Don't be back too late."

By the time Sorah made it outside, the grounds were almost clear. Only one or two students—whom of were Hogwarts students—were out and talking quietly. Sorah swiftly avoided any Prefects on the watch and made her way down towards Hagrid's hut, also to where the pegasi sat and slept. On the earful watch of feet pattering down in the damp grass, Cola, the Leader of the pegasi, raised his great, white head. His dark, beady eyes twinkled against the beginning of the nights sky. He shook his whole body, alerting the other pegasi into wakefulness. 

"Greeting's, dear Sorah," neighed Cola. Sorah approached with her own gentle aura and Cola allowed her small hand to tenderly stroke at his mane and down his long nose. "I assume you need my assistance?"

Sorah gave a small nod. "If you do not mind."

Cola puffed a neigh of a laugh, shaking his main. The wings he bore spread from its bent position, the other pegasi making way for their leader. "I take it you have never flown before?" 

" _Nein_."

"You do not fear heights, nor flying?"

"There is no such worry. I've never feared heights. As long as I now I am secure."

Another laugh came from Cola, coming forward, hooves light on the grass. "Do climb aboard."

Sorah easily climbed the back of said pegasi, keeping her calf's pressed against his sides and hands resting at the base of his neck. Her tail played at his back and ear pered for any signs of danger. 

"Hold on tight," said Cola, "I do tend to fly fast."

The wings on his back bent again and he started galloping. The motion was speedy, Sorah's vision barley catching sight of Hagrid's hut before she felt a weightless lift and the soft galloping of Cola's hooves left the ground. She leaned forwards, squeezing the pegasi's side. He went higher and higher, wings flapping slowly and leaning towards the mist of the clouds in the sky. Each drop of rain that suddenly cast shadows's on Sorah's skin tasted like freedom.

It started to rain harder the closer the got to the forest, almost right in the middle where the swirl of the wind and spit of each raindrop soaked the entire of Cola and Sorah. The clouds lit up with a course of lightening, followed by a soft rumble of thunder. Cola shook his main, spraying water droplets everywhere, catching Sorah cheek. She giggled, teeth biting down hard on her bottom lip, certain to be drawing blood. 

"You alright back there?" called the great pegasi, hearing the she-Hybrids soft laugh.

" _Ja_ ," replied Sorah from the roar of the wind.

They swept down and Sorah found the pegasi's agile shots of avoiding to tall towers of each tree and the flick of each waterfall from their leaves. She shivered, but not from the cold. Euphoria vibrated through her veins and each sweep of the leaves led her hand out and touching the tips of each green, soaked leaf. 

Soon, they landed in a punctual state, feeling the rain pelt down at their skins and entering their highly developed immune systems.

"I sense you don't care for the rain?" said Cola once they came to a final stop. He shook his mane again, giving it no justice. He also shook his wings. Sorah jumped from him, shaking herself, tail now wrapping loosely around her thigh. 

"Not one bit," said Sorah. The boldness that embraced her vocal cords shocked her even. The elephant that always lay on her chest around humans—even around Hunter—never wanted to leave her alone. However, confronted by animals made the elephant disappear, as if it never was there, as if it never belonged there in the first place. Hr voice still soft-spoken and queit, but she spoke her mind and willed her anxious tendencies away. "I love the rain."

Cola nodded. "I do not mind the rain. Only certain creatures come to enjoy Earth's unusual antics. And when they do, they can no longer avoid it."

"Vhat creatures lie in the Forbidden Forest, if you do know?" Her tongue stuck limply between her teeth, catching at the fresh water that beat down at her. It's like standing under a shower, except the shower was freezing cold and you were fully clothes. Sorah didn't feel the cold of the rain. She embraced that familiar feeling. Each drop running down her neck and soaking her shirt. The bracelet on her wrist contrasted it light against the dark, the sparkles gliding slowly between points. It happens when she speaks to animals. How had she not noticed this before?

"Many," said Cola, his eyes searching the dark forest. "Many one doesn't see in the Muggle world at least. But there are birds, foxes ... wolves."

As if on queue, a wolf howl whistled and rustled the trees, sending a sense of intimate through Sorah's spine and a spike at her wrist. 

"You never come across any wolves?"

Sorah shook her head. Her gaze followed up a line of a tree and there she found a rare sighting one wouldn't find in the rain. A bird perched itself on a stick-think branch, leaves covering it's little blue head. 

"Whatever is a little bird like you in the rain doing here?" Cola's deep voice rattled the air around them. The bird looked down, head and wing twitching before it speedily flew down and Sorah indistinctly put her arm out. She recognised the bird to be a kingfiser. The small wingspan briskly took the air and gracefully landed on Sorah arm. It carefully trailed down and onto her hand. She held it closer, going to cover him with her hand when it spoke. 

"Oh, do not worry for that," said he, "Birds like me recover form weather like this very quickly."

"Hence why you're out," said Cola.

The bird gave a curt nod and turned it head towards Sorah. "I've never come across a creature such as you. You are not human. A Hybrid, one that we get many of around these forbidden areas. What makes you so special to be out here?"

Sorah gave Cola a long look before answering. "I feel as if the ... the forest es my second home."

"Wanderlust," stated the bird. "My brothers and sisters have that. Haven't seen them for many moons."

"Why not go vith them?" asked Sorah curiously. She knew birds travelled a lot. One to stay where they are was a rare occurrence. 

"I do not have the same passion. I feel free enough here. I warn you, though, do not run into any centaurs. You come across as friendly and caring of creatures, but trespassing in their forest upsets them deeply."

"I understand," said Sorah. She then glanced at Cola and he nodded. "We understand."

"Though I do believe they would welcome Sorah," said Cola. "She is technically a half-breed. What is your name?"

"My name? Jaylin." The bird chirped some and lifted his wing up, nipping under it before speaking again. "There must be a reason for your visit."

"Ja. I have some ... questions." She said this carefully, catching at her lisp. For now the rain had nearly soaked through all her hair and uniform, the water feeling uncomfortable but relaxing at the same time. "How long have you been here?"

"All my life, Hogwarts is my home."

"Vat is it like?"

"I know some Hybrid like you may be troubled, and wished to not return to Hybithia—your talent for talking to animals, birds alike are rare—you can stay here after this year is over, if you really wanted to."

"Vell, it es not impossible ... but I feel like I betrayed my fellow Hybrids."

"That's the hard part—you're a kind soul. But you need to let go."

Sorah sighed, coming into an open patch where more rain poured and stormed, almost seeing one person as an easy target. Cola followed behind, occasionally shaking from the rain. She gently placed another hand at his neck. The comfort of knowing he' still there left her in peace. 

"I've never seen rain this hard..." she said, opening her mouth and letting the droplets land on her tongue.

"That's Hogwarts for you—the more magic the more powerful."

Sorah laughed, knowing full well the Jaylin had that sense to say something like that.

"You birds normal? You can't be."

"No, we aren't normal birds. A little magic can do."

"Magic es cool."

They stood there for a while, soaking up the water and became numb to the cold. Some other questions circled Sorah's mind. Some of which she did ask. Even Cola pitched on in the answering. It kept replaying in her head that she could potentially leave Hybithia and make a safe home at Hogwarts where people actually cared about her and Levi. Eventually, Sorah made her way back to the place where she picked up Jaylin.

"Will ve see each others again?" she asked, letting her magic dissolve once the bird was safely back inside it's home.

"I assure you sometime—birds like me don't live very long, but soon."

The bird disappeared and Sorah had to catch at each word he said. The birds here spoke almost in riddles and Sorah was not a Ravenclaw.

"You ready to go?" Cola nudged her and she nodded. The process on climbing back onto Cola didn't go as smoothly as it had when it was dry. His wings sagged with the drench of rain and he grunted a small whinny when lifting his wings.

"Are you okay?" said Sorah, the worry in her voice soft to animal's ears. 

"Do not worry, my dear," said Cola. "I have flown in worse weather. This is nothing."

Cola did his best to avoid the trees and branches sticking out widely when detaching themselves from the forest. The rain followed them towards Hogwarts and when they landed, each pegasi had been escorted inside. Sorah placed a kiss to Cola's nose when she had climbed off. He nuzzled her in a goodbye before he made his way inside.

Most Hybrids were still awake when she walked in. They stared at her but she couldn't help the small, dimpled smile that came to her face. Because she felt happy with herself for accomplishing something so bold. And she wasn't watched like a hawk for going out in the woods like she had been back in Hybithia. 


	13. ❀Practise Makes Perfect❀

"Where were you last night?" Levi stared pointedly at Sorah, putting her school shoes on and tying the laces. "You came back soaking wet, and your hair are still damp. What happened?"

"Nothin' serious," she lisped, busy braiding her hair on both sides and fringe straightened.

"Oh, wait," said Levi, sitting up. "You're allowed to go into the Forbidden Forest, aren't you? This is what you used to do in Hybithia, but you had a timed schedule, doesn't that bother you?"

"Nein," said Sorah, ignoring the fact that she didn't have a timed schedule. Maybe it was better—Professor Dumbledore had said she could go whenever she wished. This could easily calm her anxiety for the next coming one.

Levi smiled, stretching and getting to her feet. "Come on, we've got breakfast then lessons. We still gotta decide whether we want to go home for Christmas or not."

The two of them past all their fellow Hybrids and went on their way to Hogwarts, Great Hall. Some of the Hybrids followed them, and once they were there, they found that most students from all schools were there.

"Hey, can we sit by the Gryffindor table today?" asked Levi, a slight shake in her voice.

"Okay?" Sorah's answer came out as a confused, questioning tone, eyebrows furrowed into a frown. Not that she minded one bit, but she wondered why Levi suggested that. She thought for a moment the orange-haired girl wanted to sit with Cody, but no, Sorah was surprised to see Levi drag her to where Harry Potter was. In a way, Sorah didn't mind; being with Harry meant a nice, friendly conversation—or when she could just listen to Harry's voice for a long period of time.

"Hey, Levi," said the girl there, Hermione Granger. "We saved a seat for you." Her smile was soft and genuine, moving over a bit so Levi could sit down.

Since when did these two start talking?

"I don't know," murmured Sorah to herself and someone tapped her hand, making her flinch away.

"Sorah, sit down," said Levi with a light chuckle and she then realised she was standing in the middle of the walkway, looking dazed. Out of instinct, she sat down next to Levi, feeling too shy to sit next to Harry today. He only smiled at her from aside Hermione. She smiled back, looking down again, feeling the familiar butterflies again. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Ja, why?" Sorah looked at Levi who looked quite worried.

"You're really red. Do you have a fever or something?" To prove herself worried, she put the palm of her hand to Sorah cheek, and the other pushed her away gently. "You're quite hot."

"I'm fine..." grumbled Sorah, taking her food. She knew she wasn't unwell, otherwise she'd tell Levi. She was just flushed because of Harry.

Making sure the jam was spread evenly across her toast, she let Levi know once again she was feeling fine, just a little cold from last night. That managed to convince Levi into making her own toast and chatting to Hermione.

It wasn't long for Hunter to make his way over, and lean over Sorah. "Wir müssen gehen owlery." — "We need to go to the owlery." He clipped at her Hybrid-ear and left. In response, before he walked away, she kicked his shins, making him stumble and shake his head.

She could almost sense Levi looking at her, so she quickly ate the rest of her toast up and left without another word, ignoring the look of confusion she received from Levi.

A gust of wind swept past her once she was out of the Great Hall. Anxiety pooled deep in the Hybrids stomach, jumbling her thoughts.

Within the blink of an eye, Sorah had found she was standing in front of Hunter, her brothers pale green eyes staring right back at her.

"You okay, sis?" he said, tapping her cheek with the back of his hand, gently enough as not to harm her.

Sorah giggled, and she knew she looked a bit insane right now, but can you blame her? It's near Christmas, so the adrenaline is really pumping throughout her body at the moment.

"Ja," she giggled a little more, rubbing at her eyes and shaking her head. "Shall we go, then?" she said, walking along and grabbing Hunter's robes.

"You're so weird, sometimess-s," he stuttered, catching his mistake and tugged off of Sorah's tight hold. "Hey, y-you sure you okay, Sorah?"

Sorah only nodded, walking along. She tried reaching for his hand, but he moved out of the way. She huffed sadly and finally gor the message, staying away from him. Why was he asking if something is wrong when he's acting off with her?

They kept on walking and walking, watching as the stony floors of Hogwarts turned to the soft, green grass, but then back onto a pathway, the vibrant, green grass revolving into a dark, smoky grey. The colours of the world—Sorah sometimes wondered—were they really the same in everyone else's eyes? Did the people around her see green like she saw green? Or did they see it in a different colour? They could see green as red for all she knows, but that red in their eyes is called a green. We would be in the future before science can figure that out.

On the way up the steps, Sorah tip-toed, avoiding the many cracks on any part of the stones, something her and Huter did when they were younger, as if it was a little game. Hunter only had to look back once and chuckle at the sight of Sorah's eyes wide with concentration, tongue poking out from the edge of her mouth.

They both finally made it to the Owlery and walked down the steps until they stood in the middle of the chirping and flying owls. Sorah still had no clue as to why they were here. She waited patiently for Hunter to tell her until he spoke.

"Here he es!" exclaimed Hunter, arms open wide and an owl, big and mostly a pitch black with glowing, amber eyes flew gracefully past all the other zooming owls and right onto Hunter's outstretched arm. "Danké, Blackberry."

Oh, it was Brook's owl. How comes Sorah didn't notice him before? The thought made her let out a breath before coming over and stroking over the head of the black owl. Never before had she seen an owl this dark, and it was awesome to her.

Before Blackberry had landed on Hunter's arm, the owl dropped two big package's on the floor and held a letter in it's beak. With an affectionate nip to Hunter's fingers, Blackberry jumped and flew away, probably to rest with the other owls.

"What are they?" asked Sorah, bending down so she could start untying the string around the two parcel's.

Hunter opened up the letter and nodded, smiling softly. "F-from Dad," he said, giving the letter to the younger. "It's dress robes and a dress—the dress for you obviously."

"I vould have thought thet, Hunter," Sorah said as a matter of fact. "You'd look good in a dress though. Anyway, what are they for?"

"I assume your Headmaster h-hasn't t-told you yet," said Hunter, taking his from Sorah's arms.

Sorah shook her head, picking up hers.

As they started to move up the stairs, Hunter explained: "The Yule Ball, as trad-tradition, happens when the Quadwizard Tournament goes on, on Christmas Day."

"Like a dance?" asked Sorah, both now following the same pattern back to the Hogwarts castle. Well, for Hunter; they were to go separate ways soon as Sorah had a class to get to. A class that all fourth years must attend. She thought that maybe this is when they practise turning into their Hybrid forms which set another wave of anxiety to hit her.

"Ja, like a dance," said Hunter with a short nod. "And ... w-w-we have to ask people to go."

"Who vill you ask?"

"I have one person in mind.But I don't th-think sh-she'll be here d-during the Christmas."

"Oh," said Sorah, knowing, in disappointment, that Hunter wasn't going to tell her who it is. Not that it mattered because she hardly knew anyone in Hogwarts.

"Vell, see you later." Hunter leaned over and left a light kiss on his sisters cheek before going up towards the Hogwarts castle.

Sorah sighed and made her way back to the Hybithian dorms, hoping to find Levi there. She will apologise for earlier, and mentally telling herself to make Levi some of her favourite tea as a way to say sorry. Levi could never resist some tea.

Upon entering the common room, all Hybrids (and Sorah was pretty sure the whole entire school) were there, sitting in a somewhat semi-circle, listening into what looked to be what Professor Holden was in the middle of saying. Sorah turned a deep shade of red, bowing her head and moving across the room. She knew how much of an idiot she must look like carrying a parcel and not saying a single word, or even apologising for interrupting and pretending no one was there.

"Where have you been, Ms. Stylan?" Professor Holden stopped her mid-way as she was about to head for her's and Levi's room to place the parcel down.

Everyone seemed to be looking at her when she turned around, and the thought of hundreds of eyes on her made her feel nauseous. There was a light pressure in her mind, and her eyes instantly found Levi's. She's been practising her mind-reading.

I was at the Owlery, she said, hopefully giving Levi the information.

Levi seemed to get it and then blocked out her thoughts. "Professor, she was at the Owlery with her brother," she said, and Sorah shot a thankful glance of appreciation. Levi smiled at her and turned back to the Deputy Head.

"Very well," said the professor, a small nod in tact. "Be quick and deliver whatever it is to your room and please come and join us."

Sorah made sure to half-walk, half-jog to her's and Levi's shared room. She slowly opened the door and made sure to put the parcel exactly in the middle of the bed. Before she left the room, she touched the wall and then closed the door, heading down towards the common room. The room wasn't as dead silence as it was when she first walked in and she went over to sit next to Levi and Millie, who looked to be in some sort of daze.

"Millie," said Levi with a nudge. "Sorah's back."

Millie blinked and yawned. "Oh, hey! What did ya get?"

"Dress," said Sorah.

"Dress?" repeated Levi.

"For the Yule Ball?" asked Millie, seemingly interested. "We were just talking about it. That's the reason why we're all gathered here. We need to practise apparently."

"Great," huffed Ashton from behind Levi. "I'm honestly one of the most terrible dances in history. I have two left feet!"

"I'll admit I can dance," said Levi, "but slow dancing? Never even tried before."

Sorah laughed at that.

"Can you dance, Sorah?" Greyson leaned in closer to be more involved, his fringe falling in front of his eyes.

"Never tried," Sorah said, a blush covering her cheeks.

"It's true," said Levi, looking at Greyson. "She said she's never tried. I've never seen her, so we can't judge yet."

"You've got the body," said Lilian, "and you're really graceful. You could actually be really good."

The red colour on Sorah's cheeks became more apparent. "Thank you...?"

Sorah had never really thought about her body shape—she'll be honest, she's okay with the way she looked. She's never been insecure—that's one thing Hazel and the others can't pick on her about. In fact, none of them ever pick on Levi, Sorah (or Millie anymore) for their body or overall appearances. The only insult they threw at Levi about her appearance was because she was ginger, and that quickly got old because being ginger was not a bad thing; ginger hair is a natural colour. Millie, when she first came to Hybithia, was fine, and maybe on the little chubby side, hence what caused the picking on by Hazel, but Millie lost that baby fat and was now alright, so there is no need for the weight comments anymore. But herself? She's fine with.

"Please, girls at the back, pay attention!"

All jumped at Professor Holden's voice and when they turned to look she held a frown on her face, shaking her head.

"I've got a penis, I'll have you know!" Greyson said defensively causing Hybrids to burst out laughing.

"Not appropriate, May," said Professor Holden in disapproval. Once all of the Hybrids has settled down, she continued, "I need you all paying attention, because for the Yule Ball, I don't want you all to embarrass our school, or as a nation, that Hybrids cannot dance like normal people."

"You got that right!" said a boy, in fourth year, face held in a scowl. "As much as they treat as like animals, they also think we dance like them."

Professor Holden rolled her eyes and ignored his comment. "Keep your tails tucked in, otherwise Hybrids, like you, Armstrong, will be tripping over them."

Neels Armstrong was a cheater Hybrid and had a really long, thin tail, to which he tripped over a lot. He was quite clumsy, so partly it was not his fault. The boy up front blushed and laughed, clearly unsettled by the Deputy Head for 'exposing' him.

"If I hear or see any of you messing around, disrespecting the Hogwarts grounds and do behave like animals, there is a line of trophies to be polishing—weeks worth."

Hybrids groaned and nodded their heads, almost in shame.

Sorah's good, but she does have an immature humour to her, so if anyone were to mess about, she'd laugh and encourage it without even meaning to.

"C'mon, up on your paws, everyone!"

Heads now up and ears alert, everyone looked around in worry and with timid expressions. Sorah even found that Hybrids from eighth year, who deemed as the leaders and most confident, were now looking rather insecure and shy.

"Find a partner, and follow after me and Professor Cadwell."

There was an eruption of laughs when a very remorseful looking Headmaster came into view and to stand by Prfessor Holden's side. Sorah could tell that he had no intentions on doing this, but went with the flow as it was.

"Sorah, go with me." A hand grabbed at her's and she found it was Levi, desperately trying to drag her off the floor.

"But ... ve need to go vith a boys'," said Sorah, trying to get Levi to let go.

Levi frowned, but still held on to Sorah's hand. "No we don't. It's fine, come on, girls can dance with other girls."

Despite the uncomfortable situation, Sorah couldn't bring herself to argue and stuck with her best friend, flushing furiously. She didn't seem to ignore the weird looks she had shot at her and Levi, and it was only the other girl that seemed to not notice the tension.

"Right, now that everyone has a partner, except you, Kip, come on. Thank you—now, everyone knows the traditional dance routine."

Sorah couldn't help the smile when she looked over at Professor Holden and Professor Cadwell. His face was scarlet red to his ears as Professor Holden was smiling.

"Now, sir, put your hand on my waist."

Another ring of laughter sounded across the Hybrids, and Sorah managed to release Levi's grip on her hand. There was no way she was going to dance, let alone her best friend. She just couldn't; it was too nerve-wrecking.

"I'll sit out with you?" offered Levi as Sorah made her way out side of the circle of Hybrids. Nodding mutely, the two made their way from the Professor's eyes and sat down, eyes facing the backs of other Hybrids.

"Remember, balance is key, and practice makes perfect. Go by a beat, like counting to three and set your footing to the counting. Ready everyone?"

Sorah had to hold back her giggle at the sight of Zuri. It was heard that the blonde was a good and elegant dancer, but surrounded by a load of other Hybrids that are trying to step at a slow pace put her on edge and she got impatient rather quickly. She was with a boy who was about Sorah's height, and looked terrified to be with her.

"Move!" she hissed to a boy in seventh year, who looked quite scared but laughed with his friends nevertheless and moved from the 'princesses' space.

"You two not dancing?" Greyson came and sat down by the two girls.

"What about you?" said Levi, looking over at him from where he was sitting on Sorah's left.

"Nah, no girls to dance with." As he said this, he eyed Sorah with some sort of smirk and had a raised eyebrow. Sorah shifted uncomfortably, and visibly moved closer to the ginger beside her.

"It is appropriate to ask someone to the Ball, for it is tradition, and therefore setting a good example to our school," said Professor Holden. It was agony for Professor Cadwell—most of the time his head down, still a vibrant red. "I'm afraid it is not good to turn up on your own—you can always go as friends."

"Thank God!" Levi let out a sigh of relief and slumped in her seat.

Her twin, Evan, came over, ducking to avoid the gaze of the Deputy Head.

"I don't want to go..." he said, sitting beside Levi on her right.

"Why not?" said Greyson, hearing him somehow from where he was sitting.

"Not my thing," he shrugged, leaning back like his sister.

"Not my thing either," said Levi, looking at him. "But I just wanna go because there is food."

Sorah laughed, tongue poking out between the gap in her teeth.

"They should be ready to come out, soon," said Evan, pointing to her fangs. Sorah nodded, using her tongue to wobble one, which made her retreat and eyes water. Hopefully they'll come out soon. They really hurt. "Just pull 'em."

"No!" said Levi, sitting up and glaring at Evan. "That hurts."

"It's better," said Greyson, leaning in more. "I pulled mine out a couple of months ago." Sorah looked to see that there was a tooth growing through, but just about, the first sharp part of it making it's peak.

"Same," said Evan, showing his teeth. They still had time to grow, there was nothing there but gum.

Fang growing had the same process of adult teeth replacing baby teeth in it's time-span. The quickest is a week (just the start of it) and the longest is 6 months. If they aren't growing back after the 6 month had happened, you might want to see a dentist (in the Hybrid world).

"Come on!"

Suddenly, Sorah was being pulled up by Greyson and around the circle of Hybrids. The sudden jump made her heart hammer in her chest and she protectively wrapped her tail around her thigh, trying to pull away from Greyson's hand.

"Sorah, practice makes perfect," he said with smirk as she unwrapped her tail from around her. "Dance with me, just one step at a time."

Despite her bashfulness, she couldn't resist because she felt guilty about him wanting to dance with her and then her rejecting him. Millie smiled at her who was dancing with Ashton. Lillian was dancing with a boy named Harry who was quite a handsome looking lad with dark brown, curly hair and deep pools of blues in his eyes. He was quite tall as well with tanned skin and a kind smile.

"There's something I had actually been meaning to ask you," said Greyson, as he put his hand on Sorah's waist, his other hand holding Sorah's. She felt awkward, and flinched at his touch. The blush on her face, she knew, was so apparent, and her Hybrid-ears dropped down to rest on her head, shy to his gaze. "Like, I don't know what you're gonna say, but, if this is happening, why not come to the Yule Ball with me?"

Oh God, would you really wanna go with him?

"Greyson..." said Sorah, taking her hand away from him and stepping away. Guilt pooled within her when she saw the gloom flickering in his eyes. "I said I'd go with Levi ... I'm-I'm really sorry..." 

Greyson laughed. But still, he looked upset and embarrassed. "No, it's fine. I just really like you."

Before Sorah could say anything else, Greyson pushed his way out of the crowd of Hybrids and disappeared upstairs to his room. Again, Sorah couldn't help but feel so guilty. The elephant that now lay within her chest definitely stuck with her until she fell asleep that night. Greyson didn't even turn up to dinner, and neither did Ashton.


	14. ❀The Yule Ball❀

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -my fingers are killing me, it's almost 2 a.m., appreciate this amazing chapter ~ sorah :)

Within the last week before Christmas, heavy drops of snow fell gracefully onto the ground of Hogwarts. The water that the Hybrids had to travel through to get to their rooms was now frozen and formed some sort of cool tunnel. Each time Sorah were in there she'd gently run her fingers along the slip of the ice, memorising the beauty of nature. Levi preferred to keep well away in case the dam ever broke, but that was impossible. Professor Cadwell had a close eye and magic on it to restrict the breaking.

Many students in Hybithia were talking excitedly about the Yule Ball—and much like Levi and Sorah, others weren't really that bothered.

Classes became a bore and soon enough there were no classes to do. Instead, the pile of homework they had been given over the supposedly Christmas holiday was diabolical. Levi was stressing and making sure whatever spare time she had she would get the homework done. Sorah sometimes would join her on the homework fest, but after looking at the Potions essay they had to complete, she gave up. No way was she spending her holiday's fretting over a stupid Potions essay. She'd just copy down Levi's—not word from word though. (The she-Hybrid has already said it was okay).

Greyson had made a great deal of avoiding Sorah. Whenever she walked into the same room as her, he'd leave. He stopped doing this when he had finally found another date—a girl in their year named Hannah Rose. She was not exactly the nicest girl, but nice enough to give Greyson a chance. He was a good looking young lad, Sorah can't deny it. However, she did want to go with Levi (as friends) and didn't really see her and Greyson together. They didn't even have any chemistry, if you could even call it that. Sorah just saw him as a friend and nothing more. (And maybe it was the fact she couldn't comprehend with the fact that someone actually liked her).

When walking around the Hogwarts grounds with Hunter and Brook, everyone, including Levi, tried to startle Hunter into who he was going with. Brook seemed rather salty at the fact Hunter was going with someone else and not him. Sorah supposed that he wanted to go with a friend, but Hunter's already got a special someone.

"Is it someone we know?" asked Brook, eyeing Hunter with a grim look.

Hunter rolled his eyes, ignoring the look he was given by the taller boy. "N-not thet vell, but I hav-ve been talkin' to her for a while..."

"In our house?" pushed Brook, getting more agitated by the second.

" _Yes_ ," snapped Hunter, moving along quicker and turning the corner away from the other three.

"Well someone's on shark week," muttered Levi, rubbing at her eyes, looking more sleepy than usual. She didn't have her glasses on—must explain it. "Who are you going with, then, Brook?"

"I don't know yet," he shrugged half-heartedly, not really seeming bothered. "I might just go alone or not turn up at all..."

"Hey, you can come with us?" Levi suggested with a grin.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks," he said with a chuckle. "I'm gonna go and find Hunter. God only knows hes in a bad mood right now." With that being said, Brook hurried off and followed the direction that Hunter had taken.

On Christmas morning Sorah awoke to Levi shaking her, and practically jumping on her bed in pure excitement. Her eyes shone with a sparkle that Sorah hadn't seen in years. Sorah only groaned and rolled over, sticking her thumb back in her mouth and snuggling more into her blanket. A light jab at her gums jumped her to opening her eyes.

"C'mon, lazy bones! It's Christmas!" The ginger-haired girl bounced excitedly on the foot of Sorah's bed. Her enthusiasm was as clear as the days white snow. "You've got presents! Up, up, _up_!" She started dragging Sorah up and pulling on her tail. Sorah slapped her lightly with it and laughed.

"I'm up, I'm up!" she said, running her fingers through her fringe and sitting up. And Levi was right, because at the end of her bed lay a bag of presents.

Now suddenly full of energy, she removed the covers from her, ignoring the chill of the winter morning and sitting at the end of her bed. Levi was also in the same position, sitting through her bag.

"Whoa, I got one from Hunter!" she exclaimed, holding up a present wrapped that was surely to be a book. "And from Brook! _Holy crap!_ "

Sorah pulled out her own presents, seeking who's each is from. She and Levi themselves had sent out their own presents, and she was happy to see that Cody had also sent something. This year felt much different from all the other Christmas' her and Levi had spent together. Was it because her anxiety was at bay, and she was not worried or thinking about Hazel and her friends for the day? It seemed as if she was feeling some sort of connection to the new friends she was making.

"Sorah, look at this!" Levi had a wide grin on her face, eyes gleaming with happiness. She held up a book (no surprise) called The Tales of Beedle the Bard. "Hunter got me this!"

"Hunter got me thet last year," she beamed at her excited Hybrid who was now flipping through the pages. "It's a good book. I think you vill like it."

" _Yas queeeen!_ " Levi's grin stretched wide, running her finger along the smooth pages, still grinning brightly. "I saw this book in one of the wizardry shops, and asked my dad if I could get it. He said no."

Sorah decided to open her present from Cody first as it was right at the top. No doubt that it was a book considering the shape of it. She unwrapped the red and gold paper, taking note that they were the colours of Gryffindor, and gasped to see the book she had gotten.

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.**

Immediately, she started flipping through the pages to see many pictures of all different kinds of beasts.

"What's that?" asked Levi, looking over the flickering pages. Sorah held it up for the other to see. "Awesome! Who's that from?"

"Cody," replied Sorah, keeping it to her side. "Cody get you anythin'?"

"Yup!" She held up a present that wasn't what Sorah's could say a book, or anything she could guess. "It's squishy, so my closest guess is a teddy of some sort?" As that was said, she started ripping open the paper and her guess was exactly right. "Aww, look! It's so fluffy!" She happily placed the small brown teddy on her lap, and kept on going through her bag.

Sorah pulled out the present from Hunter and was happy to find a new art pad and mechanical pencils to go with it. She had a few more presents and both her and Levi went through each one together, and also gave one another their own presents they got. Sorah had gotten Levi some sort of Muggle CD with 80's music because the ginger had always gone on about how much she loved 80's music. She always played it when she was little as they were born in the 80's, and had always wanted a CD to all her favourite songs. Sorah went out of her way to collect the names of songs that Levi most enjoyed and created them into a CD for her.

"Sorah, you're literally the best!" said Levi, looking through the collection of songs on the back of the CD case. "Thank you so much!"

Levi had gotten Sorah two little things; one was some sort of machine that's called Speak and Spell. It was a reddish-orange yellow colour that allowed you to type out stuff and spell correctly, also including it saying the correct pronunciation. It was a sort of jokingly type of present, but Sorah actually quite liked it. Levi knew how insecure Sorah was about talking, and getting her to lose her accent was the next best thing.

"This es veally genius, Levi!" said Sorah with a giggle. " _Danké_."

"You're most welcome!" returned Levi.

The next present was a small, plush puppy that was small enough to sit on her shoulder.

Bless Levi.

Sorah's presents had been from a lot of people this year. She was surprised to see that even Hagrid sent her a present as well that consisted of a chocolate frog and a box of pumpkin pasties. He must have found out one way or another that they were her favourite sweets in the Wizarding World. Brook had gotten her sweets as well, a few chocolate frogs again and Bertie Bots Every Flavour Beans, which she will try later if it weren't for what Hunter had told her about them. Declan had sent her his usual plush toy for the year. (It was yearly routine ever since her and Hunter came to stay). This time it was a small, old battered looking Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, which she absolutely adored reading. Eeyore was her favourite character, and Declan had obviously been passing down this Eeyore ever since it came out.

"Since when have you liked Winnie the Pooh?" asked Levi, looking over at the old, worn down Eeyore Sorah was holding.

"Read books," mumbled Sorah.

Levi nodded in approval. "My mum also loves Winnie the Pooh." She couldn't blame the girl for being confused at Sorah retrieving a book—Levi had never seen Sorah read a single book that didn't contain facts of the sort; never had she seen Sorah read simple fiction. She kept them at home in a book case that is now clouded over with layers of dust. The thought put a disgusted look on her face. Hygiene is one of her top priorities so she had no idea why she suddenly remembered that. And the reason she never brought these books to school was of fear of them getting ruined.

Becca had sent her more art supplies and a small note book for homework notes. Not only that but she sent a light yellow hoodie that looked maybe a tad too big for her, but she loved it nonetheless. She decided once she got dressed she'd put it on.

"This Hearths Warming Eve feels different." Levi had just put all of her stuff away and both Hybrids then cleaned the wrappers and rubbish away with the flick of their wrists. "Like, more happier."

Sorah couldn't deny what the girl just said. It was much happier, and Sorah couldn't wait to go out in the snow and find her brother and his friends.

"Come on," said Levi, jumping off her bed, "lets go and get ready."

Sorah spent the next five minutes putting everything away, and made sure to leave Eeyore on her made bed with her blanket and plush bunny, Lu-Lu. Next she had a quick shower before Levi could, and took in a white, plain top and her new yellow hoodie with some black leggings and brown ugg boots. Once she had done, she straightened her fringe, which was now falling over her eyes, indicating that it needed a trim, and twisted two pieces of hair just above her ear and brought them over and tying them in a simple braid. As normal, Levi warmed and dried her tail for her and then she herself got in the shower.

"Levi, gonna miss breakfast!" called Sorah, knocking on their bathroom door. The door then swung open to reveal a smiling Levi, and Sorah then noticed that she was no longer levelling at Levi's height. She was now a couple of inches taller than her. She giggled.

The she-Hybrid was wearing a black sweater with black jeans and black boots. Literally her soul was black, and Sorah meant that in the nicest way as possible. There were the rare occasions when Levi would put on colour, especially in the summer, but in the winter it is mostly black. It was quite funny when Levi and Sorah would be walking next to each other down the corridors of the Hogwarts castle when they didn't have to wear uniforms.

They both went to breakfast and met Hunter, Cody and Brook there. Cody had gone on about how she was going to the Yule Ball with a boy named Dakota. Brook had choked on his juice and gave her the serious look of what the hell did she think she was doing. Turns out that Dakota was a Slytherin, and as Cody pointed him out, a painful feeling settled within her stomach. His head was down, eating his cereal, and it didn't seem he had any friends. His hair was a pale brown that was styled to the side, brushed by a comb, and he himself was quite pale and skinny looking. He almost looked ill to Sorah, but maybe her natural Hybrid instincts of protection claimed her heart and she felt a connection surged towards the young boy. Trying to ignore it, she figured it was most likely Cody who asked him out because the vibe he's giving off does not seem the sort of Slytherin confidence code at all.

Hunter suggested to them that they go back to the Ravenclaw tower to chill out, and maybe get some homework done. Brook had snorted and dragged them all outside into the snow towards a group of Gryffindor's. Sorah instantly lightened up a whole lot more than she already was upon seeing Harry there. The Gryffindor's were surrounding the two twins that Sorah recalls them as Fred and George. They all seemed to be having a snowball fight. Levi said this seemed much more relaxing than doing a bunch of homework. That surprised Sorah a bit, but then Levi did say; "Who wants to do homework on Christmas Day? Your brother must be mental!" Sorah had giggled whilst Hunter half-heartedly glared, sticking his tongue out at her. She only did it back before throwing a snowball at him. He accepted the challenge, and soon enough them and the Gryffindor's had started a snowball war.

During this snowball fight, Sorah had not expected her fangs to come out. She was currently taking a rest when she touched her left Fang with her tongue, to find it on the edge of her gum. With a small hiss, she brought up her hand and pulled it out. This meant that the other was to come out, so she did the same and mentally groaned. Today of all days, they had to come out.

"Levi..." she called silently, not wanting to draw any attention. Her friend came over and squealed in excitement.

"That's so cool!" she said, inspecting the two, small fangs held in the middle of Sorah's palm. "Literally no blood either. When Evan did it—God, the amount of blood." She inwardly cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. "That's probably because he didn't let them come out naturally, whereas you waited."

"Today of all days," sighed Sorah, her head dropping and hand still out.

Levi laughed and patted the Hybrid's head like a dog. "That's life." And she went back to Hunter's side, magically creating about ten snowballs, five for each of them.

Hermione had decided to watch them rather than join in, and by the time it was 5 o'clock, she had announced that she was going back to the Gryffindor Tower to prepare for the Yule Ball. The red head, who Sorah now knows as Harry's best friend, Ronald Weasley, the little brother of Fred and George, had questioned why she was getting ready so early. She had only made up some excuse and ignored his question anyway. The others decided to take a break, and Brook had said to Ron that all girls always take longer than boys to get ready.

"That is so untrue," prostrated Levi with a light hit to Brook's arm. "It'll probably take me and Sorah half an hour or hour at the latest to get ready."

"Sh-she makes sss-sense," said Hunter, shrugging when Ron started to question her. "My l ... little sister doesn't take thet long."

"Okay," laughed Ron, shaking his head. It seemed as if he didn't quite believe them, but nonetheless, he laughed it off.

It was about half 6 when the others decided to depart and head off to get ready. All were rather self-conscious and nervous of what was to come. Levi in particular was a bit uneasy. Unlike Sorah, Levi had always been more aware of what's around her and didn't exactly feel good about herself. She was busy straightening the dress she had—a dark brown that glittered on her upper body and came down to her feet—still not having done her hair.

"Okay?" said Sorah, straightening her own dress, but not in front of the mirror. Her's was a light blue that came up to her knees and swished when she turned. It fitted around her frame easily—simple but graceful. She doesn't mind for what she much looks like, because she's not paranoid, and she doesn't self-hate. She's completely content with who she is.

"Not really," Levi spoke honestly.

"We're not even dancing, remember?" said Sorah. She bent down to properly tie the lace of her white shoes—and yes, she was wearing some trainers. Honestly, Levi and Sorah thought it would be funny, but Levi wasn't wearing trainers. She was wearing normal, white slip-on shoes. "We're be eating foods." A small giggle left her and Levi nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, no need to worry," said Levi, turning to face her friend. "Could you do my hair, and I'll do yours?"

"Yeah, sure." She nodded. Levi came over and gently started pulling out the small hair band that was already in Sorah's hair. She then started spraying little bits of water to slowly comb through it. Sorah had no idea what kind of hair style Levi was doing, but she trusted her. The tingly feeling she felt on her wrist meant that she did, her white bracelet glowing slightly in trust.

This is a symbolisation of friendship. Levi was one with her group. They just needed to find their other halves.

Before Levi was done, Sorah passed her the thin hair band she would be wearing, and the girl placed it carefully over her head, musing with her fringe a bit to make it neat.

"There you go." Levi said after about fifteen minutes. They had about another half an hour left before they had to leave. Sorah can easily do Levi's hair in that time. The ginger-haired girl brought up a mirror and showed the behind of Sorah's hair.

"Whoa..." she gasped, eyes widening at the awesome job that Levi had done. Levi had tucked two prices of curly, brown hair together to make it look like a little band, and at the side of the strands were a few metal feathers places within her hair. Other than that, her hair stayed it's natural curl without any frizz at all, thanks to Levi watering down her hair. "Levi, you did awesome!"

Levi hugged Sorah from behind, fixing the fluff at Sorah's ears before releasing her again. "You're welcome. I'm actually really proud of myself. I had practised this on my mum back home, and I thought curly hair would match it more, and well-ah!"

Sorah stood up and made Levi sit where she had sat. She knew what kind of hair style she wanted to do, and even though Levi said she will never suit flower crowns, Sorah sneakily got one out from her draw of flower crowns and knew one that would look alluring on her. It was hard, but Sorah managed to curl her fingers around the soft of Levi's hair and twist it around, putting many strands of ginger, pink and blue hair through the gaps of the plait. She managed it with great difficulty, but it was good in her opinion, and she was hoping Levi liked it.

With one last final touch and straightening of one of the flowers on the crown, she picked up the mirror beside Levi and showed her the final results.

Levi gasped and started laughing with delight. "This is so nice—who knew you could make a flower crown look half decent on me, too!" She turned around and both hugged. "Thank you so much!"

They let go and Sorah looked at the small clock on her bedside table. "7:41," she said, looking at Levi.

"Millie should be downstairs waiting for us," Levi took Sorah hand. "Come on, lets go!"

All Hybrids were downstairs, apart from the few others who are being wired on. Sorah hid behind Levi as they started making their way downstairs. As much as they were happy with how they were presenting themselves, it was still nerve-wracking since they weren't exactly complimented at all. Levi was still holding Sorah's hand and tugged on her a bit. The quicker they get down there, the quicker they will 'blend in' with the crowd.

"Look, there's Millie!" Levi whisper-shouted. Again, Levi tightened her grip on Sorah and made their way over to Millie and her group. Upon seeing them, Millie jumped, putting her hand over her mouth.

"You two look beautiful!" she bashed lovingly.

She wasn't the only one squealing about the two—Lilian was also over as well, smiling brightly.

"I mean, of course you two were beautiful before, but you're absolutely gorgeous now!" gushed Lilian, jumping up and down.

She herself was wearing a light blue dress that just went passed her knees. Millie was wearing a pure white dress to where you could not see her feet. Her long hair was done up in a pony tail, plaits twisted around to make it stand up in a elegant position.

"Hybrids, please pay attention!"

All heads turned to see Professor Holden come in. She was wearing a simple plain dress and had made an effort with her makeup. Now that she had her arms bare, Sorah could just about make out the tattooed birds along her arms. Sorah had never been a big fan of tattoo's. However, Professor Holden had something about her that made them look good. Professor Cadwell was by her side in a stylish suit and for once had done his hair so it wasn't falling over his forehead.

"Carriages will be taking us over as the snow is incredibly heavy. Then again, that would be a much more of a fun experience." She nodded for everyone to follow her.

As Sorah and the others were right at the back, they had the honours of getting the last carriage. Not that they minded. They just had to stand for longer as they waited for the slow Hybrids at the front to take their places.

Just as they were halfway across the room in line, Greyson was suddenly at Sorah's side, shifting from one foot to the other. He had on a light grey suit with a tie, and like usual, his dark brown hair was styled up. He was attractive, Sorah can easily say, and he had a great personality. She didn't deserve someone like Greyson. He was too enjoyable for her boring nature.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, smiling down at her. She only nodded, not wanting to look at him. "I'm not mad at you, I promise," he said with a gentle smile.

Sorah awkwardly looked away, almost ashamed.

"You look beautiful, by the way," he mumbled the last part, pink dotting his cheeks.

"Tank you..." she mumbled, still not looking at him. "You look nice as well..." The guilt still lay heavily on her chest. She should have said yes to going with him ... Levi would have understood. But she didn't like him like that. It didn't stop the culpability. 

"Thanks," he chuckled, rubbing at his eye. "This is gonna be a long night."

She didn't reply. Instead, she looked back at Levi who was busy talking to Millie about God-knows what. She looked nervous. Sorah doesn't know, but whatever it is, she's sure Levi will tell her. Or maybe she already knows. They are best friends after all.

Soon enough they were all on their carriage and Greyson relaxed back, yawning.

"So who are we all going with?" said Ashton, rubbing his hands together. He didn't have his glasses on, so Sorah presumed that like Levi he was wearing some sort of contacts.

"Well, I actually think we're all going as friends," said Lilian. "Wow ... yeah."

"The story of our lives," said Millie and they all laughed.

Sorah wondered briefly where Greyson's date was.

The Entrance Hall, before the Great Hall, was packed full of students, milling around for 8 o'clock. Sorah tried standing on her tip toes to look for her brother, Cody, Brook or anyone else she knew, but it came to no use. There were too many different colours. She felt bad for some Hybrids in her school; because of normal animal habits, a lot of the Hybrid population were completely colour blind and had no sense of any colours. She was lucky enough to not be colour blind, even though she was sure she was part dog of some sort. Wizards and witches from other schools were searching around for their chosen partner, and Levi said it was quite comical.

The oak front doors opened and students heads turned to see the Durmstrang students to arrive with their Headmaster, Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front accompanied by a girl in a blue dress, to which Sorah couldn't quite make out who. Though the girl looked somewhat familiar. Over their heads an area of lawn was transformed into a sort of grotto with fairy lights—this meant that hundreds of live little fairies were circulating around the bushes and had been conjured there.

"Champions over here, please!" The Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts called.

Sorah looked to see Cujo and a rather pretty Hybrid, who Sorah knew as Ellie, together at the hip, looking ever-so happy to be by each-others sides.

As the champions were lining up, the rest of them were escorted past them and into the Great Hall. The walls of the Great Hall have been covered in sparkles of frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoes and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The four main tables had vanished and instead stood smaller, lantern-lit ones that could seat up to a dozen people.

At last when the hall had settled, all champions started walking in, partners by their sides and everyone started clapping as they walked towards the big round table at the end of the hall.

"Is that Hermione?" said Levi, leaning over to Sorah so the other could hear. "Whoa ... look at her!"

So the girl in the pretty blue dress was Hermione Granger—it hardly looked like the one Sorah first met. This Hermione Granger's bushy hair was now shiny and sleek, her hair rounded up and tied into a knot at the back of her head. Her posture was held differently, because Sorah was so used to seeing her with a bag of books slung over her shoulders, and not to mention a few other books she'd carry around in hand everywhere.

Sorah then spotted Harry when the champions were approaching the table and beginning to sit down. The girl by his side had quite dark skin and shocking pink robes on, with gold bracelets as such down her arm. The girl was pretty, and Sorah hoped that the girl felt happy to be with Harry on a night like this ... she's ever so lucky.

After all of the champions had come in, Sorah sat down next to Levi and surrounded by the others, seeing the menu in front of her.

"Suppose what we like will appear on these plates," Levi said more-so to herself than anyone, not really looking in the mood to eat. Neither was Sorah much. She felt quite nauseous, and she figured this was because of the nerves. She still had yet to spot her brother and his friends (and that is including Cody).

When all the food had been consumed, Professor Dumbledore had stood and asked all the students around the hall to do the same. Then, at the wave of his wand, the tables had scooted back against the walls, leaving the floor clear, and there he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right-hand side wall. A set of drums, guitars, a lute, a cello and some bagpipes were set upon it.

Some guys that Sorah did not recognised came onto the stage and a roar of enthusiastic students applaud and cheered. They were all incredibly hairy, dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. The vibe Sorah got was a big case from Levi, because these are the kinds of people Levi would look up to. She then realised that all the lanterns that were around the room were all off, and as the people on stage picked up their instruments, she saw that the students were forming a circle and the champions were coming into the middle of the dance floor. Sorah supposed this is where they were to dance in front of everyone.

Okay, as much as she thought of that girl with Harry lucky, she wouldn't never be able to do something like this.

_Dance in front of everyone? Hell to the no._

The guys on stage struck up a slow, mournful tune and the champions started to dance. During the middle of the song, others went up to the dance floor and sooner than later, nearly everyone was busy dancing. Professor Cadwell was dancing with a Hogwarts Professor, smiling and laughing at her speaking.

Both Levi and Sorah sat out, opening a bottle of what was called Butterbeer.

"Vhat's zis?" lisped Sorah, holding it up.

"Some kind of wizards drink," shrugged Levi, taking a sip. There was moment of testing the taste, and then nodded in approval. "It's actually really nice—try some."

Reluctantly, she tipped her head back a bit and let the fizz hit her tongue. At first she winced at the strong taste, and prayed that this wasn't real alcohol. It wasn't bad, it was quite nice.

"It es nice," she said, taking some more into her system. "Wow."

The two sat content watching everyone dance to the music, and finally Sorah spotted a person she had been looking for. Cody was currently dancing with her partner, Dakota, who looked so much better than he had this morning. He looked happy, and seemed to be enjoying himself a lot. She took notice that they were getting weird stares, but Cody could not give two craps about that. Sorah didn't understand why a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff looked strange together. Or the fact Sorah doesn't actually know Dakota—he could be a very troublesome boy.

Still no sign of Hunter or Brook for that matter.

"How can there be so much beauty in one person?" Levi questioned out loud, dazedly looking at where Hermione and Krum were dancing. "She's so cute..."

Sorah shifted. "What?"

Levi ignored her, and continued staring at the other girl, sipping on her butter beer.

"Hullo, ladies," a voice said and they turned to see a grinning Brook. For once, he looked all done up. Constantly, he had his jumpers untucked and hair messily laid upon his head. Now—with a black suit, tie and shiny shoes and trousers, with none for the matter, untucked—his look appeased the air around them. She dare think he looked incredibly handsome. 

"There you are!" said Levi with a small laugh. "Where'v you been?"

He gestured to dancing students. "Just dancing with random people—quite hectic there."

"Hunter?" said Sorah, not wanting to shout over the loud music. Brook raised an eyebrow, processing to what she just said and then understood. His relaxed gaze turned sour and he grumbled.

"He's off dancing with that Lovegood girl," he huffed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Lovegood?" said Levi, looking over to find Hunter.

"A girl in our house," he said gloomily. "She has long blonde hair and blue eyes—she's a weird one as well as that—I do not get why Hunter would want to go out with someone like her."

"Jesus, you literally have salt pouring from you," mumbled Levi, still searching for Hunter. Sorah laughed at Levi's response and decided too to find her brother. "Oh. Found him," said Levi very casually, pointing.

He was currently dancing slowly, staring lovingly into a girls eyes (and wow, the girl was incredibly dainty) who was smiling back and talking. Well, looks like he found a good match.

"Is it just me or are a lot of the girls in Hogwarts incredibly attractive?" said Levi, shaking her head.

"Not all," snorted Brook. "Have you seen Pansy Parkinson? She's got the face of an ugly pug. And anyway, I don't swing that way."

Levi only laughed but Sorah was left to wonder whatever the hell that meant. She ignored it and continued watching her brother and this girl dance until the song ended. He caught Sorah's eyes and held the girl's hand, dragging her over.

"Sorah, you look so nice!" he commented, and Sorah stood up shyly, thanking him and returning the compliment. "Sis-ss, this es Luna, and Luna, this es my little sister."

"Hello, Sorah," said she, holding out her hand. She seemed friendly enough, so Sorah shook her hand and was almost overwhelmed by how soft the girls hands were. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too," Sorah said quietly.

"It's really cool to know that a good friend like Hunter has a Hybrid as a sister," said Luna. She had a sort of dainty, dreamy atmosphere about her voice. She was nonchalant and almost lovable that Sorah felt instantly calm and collected around her. "Hybrids have always fascinated me."

"Sorah!"

Cody came bounding over, behind her Dakota, who Sorah was shocked to see was rather short, shorter than her, Luna and Levi and Cody as well. The wind could knock him over.

Cody was wearing a short blue, light dress, much like the colour of Hermione's. And to Sorah's amusement, trainers too.. Her face paint was stunning, white stripes around her eyes as such. God only knows she's been reading upon Hybrid Ball traditions for makeup/face paint choices. Her hair was rounded around her shoulder and also had a flower crown on her head. The last and final touch was what looked to be a peridot gemstone necklace around her neck.

" _Bonjour,_ my fellow Hybrids, this is Dakota!" she introduced excitedly.

"Hullo!" he said smiling, white teeth and all. "How ya' doing?"

They all waved, and greeted him the same way. He didn't seem like that lonely and depressed kid Sorah saw that morning. It's as if he's changed personalities. Maybe he was just having a bad morning.

For the rest of the evening, Sorah found herself more relaxed and happier than ever. Brook and Hunter were talking civilly whilst Cody wouldn't stop going on and on about random stuff that nobody really cared about.

Luna, Dakota and Sorah kept to themselves and both Dakota and Sorah let Luna mostly talk. Her voice was harmonising and almost putting Sorah's to sleep. This girl would be a good bedtime story reader. She had such a soothing voice.

One by one, people started to leave as it was nearing midnight. And soon enough, Levi had told Sorah she was going to bed and that she'd see her soon. Then Luna, Dakota and Cody went. When Hunter and Luna gave a quick hug to each other, Sorah could feel the burn at the back of her brothers head by Brook glaring so ragingly behind him. Not only him, but poor Luna as well. She bid him goodbye and he completely ignored her.

You can guess this resulted into Brook and Hunter arguing.

"Vhat es your problem, Brook?" demanded Hunter, sounding not any bit sad. "You've been down all evenin' and you von't tell me why..."

"Why would you go with someone like her?"

Sorah had shifted away from the two, not really knowing why she had not gone when Levi had gone. Now she's going to have to make her way back alone. But at least she could probably get a little flying session with Cola going.

However, before she had the chance to consider this and stand up, someone was already in front of her. Not too close for it to be intimidating, but close enough for it to be so they could catch her attention.

Sorah looked up and was surprised to see Malfoy.

"Hey," he said quietly. "You wanna, uh ... dance?" 

If it weren't for who Sorah was, anyone else would have laughed out loud, thinking it was one big joke. But Sorah didn't have it in her heart to say no. Not after Greyson... Levi wasn't here so it wasn't as if she had an excuse. So gradually, she stood up, head down, rubbing at her arm and nodding slightly.

The sudden touch to her left hand made her jump a bit, but feeling the gentle and smooth hand lacing fingers around hers made her calm a little and be walked to the dance floor. Many students were still dancing, and not really paying attention to around them, so Sorah found it within her to do something like this; this is a big step for her.

"Hey, look at me," said a crooning voice and she did, under her fringe.

She never really got to have a proper look at what Malfoy really looked like. She always constantly saw a sneer or smirk on his face, but now that she was up close, it wasn't a bad sight. His shocking white-blonde hair was swooped to the side in a gentle manner, and in his grey eyes she could see around the pupil that he had sparks of radiant blue there. He was tall, maybe a bit taller than Harry, and if she looked closely enough, she could see the tiniest amount of freckles on his upper nose and cheeks, like her, just that hers were more predominant.

The shyness she was feeling was slowly fading away. She sighed, looking past Malfoy and spoke, "Are you feeling okay?"

Malfoy chuckled, shaking his head a little. "I am, yes, believe it or not."

"Pretty hard to believe..." Sorah mumbled, a blush coating her cheeks. 

Malfoy laced his fingers with her a little more comfortably, his eyes darting between her and the room. 

"I'm sorry about, you know?"

"Calling me a filthy half-breed? A Mongrel?"

Sorah knew she was being a little overbearing; a female dog, but it hurt. So she couldn't exactly forgive him just like that. 

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled quietly.

A frown was set on his face and Sorah pursed her lips, wanting him to smile again. Because he looked nicer when he did.

"I'll leave you alone from now on," he said. "Will that be forgiven?"

Sorah shook her head, rolling her eyes at him. "It won't solve anything. Do you want some advice?"

Malfoy nodded. 

"Try being a little nicer."

They let go of each-other, both actually committing a laugh.

"Well, I will try."

Sorah smiled. "You sure you're up for that?"

"I am pretty sure."

Sorah nodded at him with gratitude and started turning away before he caught her wrist easily. She whipped her head around, he eyes managing to find his, something she's always had trouble with. 

"I never caught your name, you know? If I'm to try being nice, I can't go around calling you or others a bunch of Mongrels."

"Sorah."

"Full name, perhaps? Wouldn't exactly say we're on a first-name basis."

With an eye roll, Sorah said, "Sorah-Bella Stylan."

"Thanks, Sorah-Bella." He let go and turned away before Sorah could comment on the fact that calling her 'Sorah-Bella' is not a last names basis, but he was already swaggering off. 

When she got back, most were asleep and in bed, this including Levi. She easily used her Hybrility to clean herself up and get herself ready for bed. Lying there made her go over the events of this night with a small smile on her face.

 


	15. ❀The White Wolf❀

The day after was of course Boxing Day, and most spent their time relaxing, retiring after a load of days and months works. Sorah spent her time organising hers and Levi's room in the span of twenty minutes before going over to the Hogwarts castle and meeting her brother. They were to go to the Ravenclaw common room to just hang out and chill all day. Levi would of loved to of tagged along, but a sudden bug that was going around the dorms of Hybithia forced her into bed with a stuffy nose and sore throat.

"I can stay vith you." Sorah had offered, straightening the pencil and notepad she had on her bedside desk.

Shaking her head, Levi smiled painfully up at Sorah, tea in hand. Loud, hacking coughs escaped her throat, and Sorah rushed over, taking the tea from her cold, pale hands and setting it down on her desk.

"Sounds awful," she sympathised, ears lowered down to her head.

"It is," Levi barely managed to squeal out before taking a deep, shaky breath. "'Imma die!"

Only when Levi fell asleep, plenty of water beside her and wrapped up warmly, did Sorah make her way towards Hogwarts castle, books in hand for homework—the homework she had somewhat neglected for the past week of the holiday. Now that Christmas was over, everyone seemed rather flat and back to their mentally exhausting selves again, preparing themselves, for the rest of the school year.

The ground was still covered with the white clouds of snow, and pretty snowflakes captured in her ringleted hair and long, dark eyelashes. Childishly, she stuck her tongue out just the smallest amount to taste the snow that dissolved to cold water on the surface. Her hands were stretched out to feel each and every different patterned snowflake. Other Hogwarts' students were out playing out in the snow. She assumed that they were the younger years as she couldn't really imagine the older kids doing this.

On her way up she passed the many paintings of Hogwarts, and they greeted her with kindness, welcoming her to their home. She timidly answered back with short, simple thank you's and went on to the Ravenclaw staircase. When she got to the top, she was surprised to see Cody arguing with the door knocker.

"C'mon, you bloody door knob, I got the riddle right. You gotta let me in," she grumbled, crossing her hands over her chest. Her foot stomped down onto the ground, clearly annoyed.

"You are no Ravenclaw," the eagle replied, also annoyed at the girl.

" _Ughh!_ " Cody exaggerated by throwing her arms up in the air. "I have friends in Ravenclaw—"

"Oh, hello, young lady," the eagle said as Sorah was finally in view.

Cody turned, seemingly quite scared that maybe it was a Ravenclaw, but as she saw Sorah, her posture relaxed and she sighed again. " _Bonjour_ , 'ybrid, can you get me in?" Her tone was flat and expression bored. 

Eyeing the eagle, Sorah stepped forwards and the eagle said some sort of riddle.

"If you want me you'll have to share me, but if you share me then I'll be gone. What am I?"

For a moment, Sorah panicked, her ears twitching. The eagle seemed a bit disappointed at Sorah's lack of speech, until something inside of Sorah clicked.

"A secret," she said, knowing full well that it must be the answer.

"Go right in," said the eagle.

Sneakily, Sorah looked behind her, nodding towards the door for Cody to quickly follow. Cody got the message and as Sorah was making her way in, Cody ran right past her, rushing into the blue common room.

"You imbecile!" screeched the eagle, having shut the door even though it never wanted the arrogant Gryffindor to enter.

Cody started laughing and rolled her eyes. "Thanks!" She grabbed Sorah's hand and high-fived it. Sorah flinched, pulling her hand away from the unwanted contact but laughed nevertheless. "Think about it logically, the eagle wasn't that smart if it thought I wasn't gonna make some sort of run for it once you got the riddle right and having to open!" She said this all in one breath, grinning widely. "Oh, and I'm here because your brother invited me. Did you know that me and him have been friends ever since I came to this school? But we never really talked much at first, I just helped him with his potions once and he passed the test! I'm such a good friend!"

Sorah thought of Cody and Levi—she thought that if you put two in the same room they'd have some sort of argument. Both are very alike in a lot of ways. Especially the talking at rapid speeds without having to take a breath gift.

Sorah felt as if Cody had already told her this, as if getting dejavú, but didn't think much of it.

"Sorah!" Hunter beamed when the two entered the common room. Most students, it seemed, were not yet there as they were giving themselves a break and sleeping in. Sorah does normally sleep in, but past 10 and the rest of the day is ruined for her. Right now, she guessed, the time was about 8, so she was alright.

"Hallo," she said, smiling.

Both Hunter and Brook came to a silent agreement to not talk about what happened last night. They were talking friendly enough, back to their old selves it seemed, apart from them touching one another as much.

"Have you had breakfast?" questioned Cody, nibbling on some bread. She looked at Brook when doing this and he nodded.

"Yeah, had jam on toast—"

"Mate, I asked if you had breakfast, not what you had." Cody said this jokingly, and lucky for her, Brook had the same sense of humour and shook his head with a smile on his face.

"What homework are you doing?" said Brook, pulling out what looked to be his own homework.

Sorah was currently writing down a few notes on becoming an animal. Despite her lack of knowledge on what she is, it was easy to go through the basic points on how to change into one. This homework was set when the term ended, and she thought now would be a good time to do it and complete it. Levi, of course, had done it a few days after it was set, and she did offer the choice of Sorah wanted to look at hers. Sorah had refused, saying she wanted to figure this out on her own instead of having to depend on her best friend all the time. She thanked her for the offer though.

"None," Cody said simply after Brook's question. As soon as her bread was all eaten up, like Sorah had seen her do before, she reached into her scarlet red hoodie (something to do with Gryffindor) and out came a yellow lolly pop. She then pulled out a lot more than anyone would expect. "Want one?" her tone casual, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Before they could say anything, lolly pops were flying their ways and Sorah caught one what looked to be a Coca Cola in her hand. " _Danké_ ," she thanked quietly, and unwrapped it.

Hunter and Brook unwrapped theirs too, gladly thanking the Gryffindor.

"Yeah, I wasted three seconds of my life pulling those three out, so I bloody well hope you enjoy them," she said with a wave of her hand. Since she wasn't doing any homework, she took to constant clicking of her pen. To Sorah it didn't really bother her, because she could easily zone that out, but to Hunter it seemed to annoy him.

"Cody, stop the c-clicking," he said. His glasses were currently at his side, not wanting to put them on this early in the morning.

" _Non_ ," she said. "The click is good."

With an irritated sigh, Hunter moved away from her just the slightest so he could try and get some homework done.

The process went on, and soon enough people were able to block out the clicking, and at one point Cody had stopped, just staring off into the blue obis of the Ravenclaw ceiling. Either the girl had a low attention span, or she was, in a weird way, tired.

 _To become your known Hybrid, you have to think like your known Hybrid_ , Sorah read and this was the part she was afraid of.

She had no idea what she was. A dog, maybe? She had the ears of one, and quite possible the fluffy tail of a Golden Retriever—but the ears weren't a Golden Retriever. What was she to do now? There would be no completion of the homework if she were to not answer this. All answers must be completed, otherwise it would set her on edge.

Thinking she would have to go to the Hogwarts Library, or even go all the way back to the Hybithian dorms to help her research this, she looked up to be reminded that this common room was filled to the brim with books. Stacks of shelves held many ancient copies of either the Wizarding World, Hybrid World and Muggle World. She got up from the comfy, warm chair she was sitting in and went over to where Hunter was currently looking through a book shelf.

The common room was in a small buzz of conversation, most Ravenclaw's doing their own things and reading, some chatting with their friends, talking about latest school drama or about the holiday's.

Hunter had pulled out a book, which looked to be from what Sorah saw Herbology. This was quite obviously the Hogwarts Subjects section, and she shyly tapped on her brother's shoulder, hoping for guidance.

" _Ja?_ " he whispered, turning to the young she-Hybrid, smile on his face. "You alright, sis?"

She nodded. "Hybrid books?"

"Oh," he said, and put down the book he was holding. "Come vith me." He pulled her along to the opposite side of the room where a couple of students were reading. She was quite contented that they were reading Hybrid books—for some reason that put her more at ease. "V-Which one?" he pointed to all the books.

Sorah thought for moment, before saying, "Animal Forms?"

Hunter pushed his glasses up his nose so they could rest comfortable as he took out his wand, silently looking for any books that had that subject. Books were moving gradually from which ones he was pulling out and looking at. At one of the last ones, Sorah was beginning to lose hope when Hunter exclaimed, "Ahah!" but he made sure to keep his voice low and quiet because he didn't want to draw any unwanted attention. He waved his wand gently and out the book came, falling gracefully into his outstretched arm. The book lay there and the title read  **How to Tell What Specific Hybrid One Are.**

In return for his findings, the least Sorah could say was a small, "Thank you," before taking it from him.

 _"De nada,"_  — "You're welcome," he nodded and both went back to where they originally were.

Once seated and comfortable, Sorah let her mind find the right page she was looking for and if flips to page 112. On this page it showed a simple hand sketched drawing of a Hybrid in old clothes, so she guessed this was written quite a while ago. This Hybrid was quite difficult, and looked to be rare Hybrid.

> **_First off, we focus on what ears it has. (No worries if your particular Hybrid has no ears—please skip this step onto the next one if necessary). It can be any type of animal ears—depending on the size of the ears as well, it can be a tricky one._ **

Sorah concentrated closely on the Hybrids ears. It was a simple drawing, and the ears looked to be some type of rounded ears, with not much for on them, but enough to keep them warm and to show it's a mammal. It seemed to her it could be a mouse. The ears were also drawn to a small scale, so maybe it was a mouse. Mice are small after all.

She was sure she was not a mouse, and some sort of dog breed. Her ears were to scale—average. They were quite fluffy, and soft to touch. She could easily move them forwards, to the sides, and backwards, much like a dog or a cat can do.

> **_Some Hybrids may not have ears as a result to being some sort of bird Hybrid, or maybe a mythical creature—which, might I add, are a rarity to our worlds._ **

This sentence sparked an interest for Sorah, but at the moment, she wasn't really looking into the rare fantasy creatures. It explained the Hybrid effects on pixies, which many of them reined in Hybithia.

> _**The tail is the next logical step; every tail is most likely to match opponents ears. If not, then they are a half breed in their animal form—for example, a Dog-Demon consists of half dog, half pixie. The very reason for it to be called a Dog-Demon is because the dog breed are a vicious kind and there has not in recorded history been a calm, collected dog with pixie genes.** _  
>  _**Some Hybrids may not have tails such as birds, horses, ponies, and in the rare occasions, unicorns and pegasi and dragons.** _

Subconsciously, she reached behind and grabbed her tail, soothing it down from the cold it had been exposed to. Her tail was fluffy, like cats fur—long cats fur, but it was not a cats tail—it was more like a tail of a Golden Retriever but fluffier. So now that she's known the fact she was some sort of dog breed:

Fox—their tails were furry. There is a difference between furriness and fluffiness. Plus, her ears were bigger than what the average fox Hybrid was.

Coyote's have long, pointed ears with furry tails as well.

She flipped through the book, finding the wild dog breed pages. A possibility of being some sort of wolf then popped into her head. If foxes and coyote's were out of the question as well as any other sort of dog breed, what about wolves? At the page of wild dog breeds, she was surprised to see many that she had never heard of before. First one was racoon dog, and she couldn't help think they looked positively adorable. There was also the island and grey fox along with a kit fox. None of which seemed to match up with Sorah's ears or tail.

While searching this, she flipped to the back of her notebook and started a list of animals. These were the types of animals she could try and find and learn about. She could easily learn about them through books, but getting to see them in real life was the best lesson to learn.

After writing down the names on the page, she looked at the right and found different types of wolf breeds. Dhole's were a reddish-brown colour with black accents, portraying as quite skinny runts. However, they are described to be quite dangerous and it would be best to watch your back when leaving them. It is sighted in Asia and can be mistaken for a dog, but have fewer canine teeth. Instead of barking or howling, the dhole whistles in a low, soft manner to attract attention of other dhole's.

One particular coyote/wolf breed took her interest called the jackal. The tail it showed was fluffy and quite long with ears that matched Sorah's. They are predators but are also scavengers like the coyote family; they are found in Africa.

Sorah made sure to write this information down in her homework, thinking that the extra research was good for her marks.

She skipped past other wolf breeds that she already knew and had information on when she stopped dead on what was called the Arctic Wolf.

> _**The Arctic Wolf (Canis lupus arctos) is a wolf that lives in the Arctic. The subspecies has adapted to its habitat by growing thick white fur that grows longer between the toes to protect its footpads and shorter ears and snout to conserve heat.** _

That must be it! Next to the picture of the arctic wolf it showed an arctic wolf Hybrid and it looked to have the exact same ears and tails as Sorah. 

Looking up and around her, she found Cody with her cheek on the desk whilst staring off into space again. Hunter reading through a book and practically on Brook's lap whilst said boy played with her brother's hair. She reached over and pulled on the book Hunter was reading. He looked up and gestured for her to go on. She then gave him the book, pointing to the bit of the Arctic Wolf and he gladly took but not before dog-marking his Herbology book. He skimmed through it, and his eyes widened, staring at Sorah. Brook took the book from him, abandoning his work on Hunter's hair and read it himself. 

"Whoa," he breathed, looking up from the book at Sorah. "Do you really think—?"

Sorah nodded eagerly, taking the book back.

Both him and Hunter got up, and at seeing this, Cody also got up. "Are we going?" she said, eyes dazed and out of it.

"No," said Brook, "we think we just discovered Sorah's Hybrid."

"No way!" she squealed excitedly, taking the book from Sorah's hands. She didn't protest, and let the smaller girl skim through it. "Holy moly! Girl, 'ow did we not notice this shit before?"

"Shh!" Hunter shushed, scolding Cody for her language. "Stop swearing!"

A few Ravenclaw's looked at them and Sorah avoided their judging gazes by staring at Cody in a sort of daze. The relief flooding her that she could quite possibly be an Arctic Wolf had her so happy and relaxed finally. Plus, she was not even disappointed because wolves are cute and savage creatures. No wonder she liked the winter so much; if she were an Acrtic Wolf they had a natural instinct to be living in the cold.

"Welp," Brook said, taking the book from Cody. "Guess this is something new we're gonna be looking forward to."

By something new, Sorah knew he meant by changing into her Hybrid. Then it would no longer consist of her being called a newborn.


	16. ❀Hybology❀

On the way back to the Hybithian dorms, Sorah was left to bottle up her excitement, because if she were to burst out with her enthusiasm, she was sure to be judged by the few kids that were outside. She didn't want to draw any attention, either, so it was a win-win situation. By the time she got back to the dorm rooms, Hybrids were opt to not talking and recovering from any sort of sickness that they may have caught.

Levi was fast asleep when she got back. _Bless her,_ she thought and took her empty cup of water and refilled it with a small water spell.

She decided that when Levi was better she would tell her the discovery. During this time, Cujo had come to Sorah again about some news with the egg. It's not that Sorah minded him coming to her—in all honesty it made her feel less useless to everyone around her.

"You know a lot about animals," he said and dumped the golden egg—which was surprisingly light for the size of it—in her arms. "Do you mind trying to figure out how to work it?" She only agreed mutely and granted his wish.

The whole entire week she kept visiting the Hogwarts library to get some information on a dragons golden egg. Some students looked at her weirdly, knowing full well she wasn't the one who won the egg. The only information she managed to conjure was why some dragons laid golden eggs. That wasn't the information she needed, though it caught her interest; then again, the whole book caught her interest and she procrastinated in reading it instead of finding out the reason as to why she was searching through these books in the first place.

About a month into this, she found as little information than useful. She couldn't help but count the amount of times Cujo had stopped her in the walkways of Hybithian dorms for news about how the egg worked. She had to shake her head, an indication of apologies and he didn't seem too annoyed by it. The days that went on that then turned into weeks and now eventually a month, Cujo was getting rather agitated. February the 24th seemed to be closer than Sorah and Cujo had wished to be.

She still has not heard the end of Levi's irritation that she agreed to do this. From every name under the sun Levi had called Cujo for making her do this; Sorah just ended up zoning out the poor Hybrid in the end. Being ill had always made Levi more on edge than normal. Cujo setting this task for Sorah, which he should do himself, was just the cherry on the top for Levi.

She was starting to give up when February the 10th rolled around and was mentally preparing herself in shame to give the egg back to Cujo when she was greeted by a Hogwarts student in yellow and black uniform—the house colours of Hufflepuff. Quickly, she hid the egg behind her back, tail instinctively coming up and brushing the fur over the egg.

_You're such an idiot for agreeing to do this, you know that right?_

"Hey," the boy said and Sorah then noticed he was the other Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory. He was tall and rather handsome she might add. "I saw the egg."

Ears lowered a red face, she let her tail slump and pulled out the egg from behind her.

"How comes Brandaze doesn't have it?" he asked, coming across as quite curious about the subject.

Sorah only shrugged, looking awkwardly into his grey eyes.

"Well, if you want, I can give you a little hint on how it works?"

She nodded, smiling hopefully.

Cedric looked around as if he were scared anyone were to see him helping out someone who wasn't even in the task. He then stopped checking and said quietly, "Tell Brandaze that if he wants to get this stuff done on his own, take it down with him for a bath." This is all Cedric said before nodding and giving Sorah's arm a light pat. She flinched a tiny bit, but didn't feel any threat against his touch so she smiled politely to him as he turned and walked away.

That night Sorah had given Cujo his egg back, and she gave a little note, basically saying what Cedric had told her but with more explanation.

> **_to find out more about this egg, take it to the bath with you, and solve it there. don't open the egg above water though. - sorah._ **

Sorah had the common sense to know not to open the egg above water. From what happened when he opened the blasted thing, a wail of a sound had escaped it. Literally. So the only thing Sorah could think of what Cedric had told her was to open it underwater. She sure hoped it worked, otherwise Cujo was sure to kill her.

The day after she received no backlash from Cujo. Instead, he randomly high-fived her when she and the other fourth year Hybrids were on their way to a whole class lesson.

"You're a genius!"

"Oh, worked it out?" Levi had called back bitterly. Luckily he didn't hear and she grumbled to herself on the way to the lesson.

Once all the Hybrids were seated in the space they were given, the Hybrid teaching them was someone who had never taught them before; Professor Cadwell stood there, sleeves rolled up unprofessionally and hair more messy than normal. Whispers flooded the room, asking what seemed to be going on. The only times they were called to come together and Professor Cadwell was here, it was for a telling off. It was making everyone anxious, because despite the Headmaster's laid back vibe, he can be scary when angry.

"He's teaching us the technique of how to form our animals," mumbled Levi, hand resting on her cheek and elbow on her knee with her legs crossed. Sorah eyed her as if to ask how she would know. "Our homework about the animal thing, quite obvious. Also, I've heard whenever they teach this strategy Professor Cadwell has always done it. Before he became Headmaster, he was the teachings of the Hybrid body, Hybology. But obviously, Professor Willcock is back at Hybithia, so we haven't had a Hybology lesson in a while. Since Professor Cadwell did it, he can teach us."

Sorah nodded her head, not wanting to trigger Levi anymore. She's not very well, which results into wanting to be left alone.

"Right, everyone quiet, this is important," said Professor Cadwell, clapping his hands together. Everyone immediately went quiet. "Today, as you may of heard and figured out, is about your animal forms." A ripple of excitement filled the air around them, and even though Levi told Sorah what was going on, hearing it said by the Professor made things all the more better. "It's a tricky situation. We are all to be handed out books to fill in—" groans then came from the Hybrids around him and he chuckled "—don't worry, we will be practising today. We have no time limit apart from when it's dark—"

"Sir! I need my lunch!"

"Do you ever stop eating?"

"An obese child like me needs it's food!"

Giggles came from the students and Professor Cadwell rolled his eyes at the immaturity of his fellow Hybrids.

"Professor Dumbledore, Hogwarts Headmaster, has allowed us to use the school grounds. As it is raining, it may be a little more difficult than normal. But Hybrids like us shouldn't take a much notice at some mud and rain."

Sorah could almost feel the fear radiating off of Hazel—that girl hated getting her hair and body dirty, hence why she stayed away from Hybrids like Sorah. She did not get this since Sorah stayed as clean as she possibly could, but if she were to get hit in the rain, she really could not care less.

Books were then handed out, a simple 'take one and pass it back' routine. Sorah took the book at hand and passed it to Levi. The book was an A5 dark purple colour with three lines at the top of the left hand side page. A pen in hand from her pocket of her uniform, she searched around to find everyone else writing their names.

> **_sorah-bella stylan._ **  
>  **_hybology._ **  
>  **_(animal forms)._ **  
>  **_professor willcock. (cadwell)._ **

When writing her names and other tags, she always wrote with smaller letters which really pissed off Millie all the time.

Inside were basic lines to write down notes on. Sorah looked over at Levi to find her writing down the date and a couple of notes. Deciding to do the same, Sorah wrote down the date, 11th February, and wrote down a few notes on what she knew about the transformation.

> _**• imagine what your animal looks like.** _  
>  _**• know its colour.** _  
>  _**• don't flinch when changing, this could** _  
>  _**potentially lead to what wizards call** _  
>  _**"splinching", causing to severe injuries.** _  
>  _**• the first time hurts ... yay.**_

Sorah knew very well that the Professor's will not be checking the books, hence why she was writing in small letters.

She looked at Levi again who had already done so much. Smart arse, she thought, amused.

"Hey," she whispered, not wanting to antagonise her any further. Levi looked up, not looking irritant, just tired and ... ill. "Can I have some notes?"

"Yeah," she said tiredly and passed her some notes. Sorah thanked her quietly and as she wrote some down, Levi rested her eyes.

> _**• use the power of your bracelet to help** _  
>  _**any complications.** _  
>  _**• do not proceed to change when your** _  
>  _**bracelet is not working.** _  
>  _**• the bracelet, when taken off, will not** _  
>  _**help you change unless you are a high-** _  
>  _**advanced hybrid and skilled at** _  
>  _**hybology.** _  
>  _**• transforming when in an unfortunate** _  
>  _**situation is not the answer. something** _  
>  _**can go terribly wrong, not predicting** _  
>  _**what it may be.** _  
>  _**• it can take several weeks to perfect** _  
>  _**transformation.** _

She decided to not copy anymore as she thought she had quite enough.

"Right," said Professor Cadwell, gesturing for everyone to stand up. They did, and were questioning where to put their books. "Leave your books here, as general knowledge, that I'm sure you know what most of you are doing. You can always ask a friend. Follow me outside, and it doesn't matter if you have no coats. You'll have to deal with the cold."

Some groaned and Sorah couldn't find herself to care. She was like a radiator, and that was one of the reasons why Levi loved hugging Sorah since she, Levi herself, was always cold, and Sorah was always warm. 

They all followed the Headmaster into the wilderness of freezing temperatures. Clouds above were grey, on the verge of spitting out rain. Not fazed by the slightest of it, she let herself be handled by Levi who was already chattering from her sickness. The fact that the bug she had caught a couple of months ago was still in her system wasn't exactly what you'd call healthy. Sorah tried telling her to visit the Hogwarts medical place (whatever they called it) but Levi, being her stubborn self refused. She said all she needed was rest and tea—Sorah had sneaked a few tablets into her tea, and it seemed to be working.

"Please, line up opposite your chosen partner."

Sorah ended up beside Lilian, who's partner was Ashton and when Sorah looked at Levi, she sighed sympathetically. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her nose failed to stop running.

"Levi, you look like shit," said Ashton from next to her.

"Oh really?" grumbled Levi sarcastically. "I had not noticed."

"Doesn't she look like shit twenty four seven?" said Zuri from a couple of spaces away.

"That's rich considering you were raised in a pigsty," Lilian shot back with such venom it actually shook Sorah to the core. People laughed at what the she-Hybrid had said and Zuri went beat red and she mumbled a 'shut up' before looking at her partner, Tom.

"Hybrids, concentrate on your partner, know what their Hybrid is—"

"Sir, isn't that impossible for Stylan since she doesn't know what she is?" barked Hazel, smirking.

Sorah shook her head, not really offended because it wasn't as if she had barked out to everyone she had somewhat discovered her animal. She only told a select few like Levi, Millie, Greyson and that.

Professor Cadwell scolded her. "Martin, keep your opinions to yourself. Besides, Sorah is a half-breed like you, so that's like making fun of yourself."

Getting roasted by Professor Cadwell or in general a Professor was one of the best things to happen. Hazel looked humiliated and Sorah could not help but enjoy the moment. When looking at Professor Cadwell he smiled at her, a sort of spark in his eyes. A silent thank you was passed to him and he understood, getting on with the lesson.

"It never usually works first time, only in some lucky circumstances it does. But it's being able to change back into your normal self is the problem since we usually save that for a longer lesson. This time you should just feel an unfamiliar change to your body," he explained, walking behind the mass of Hybrid who were nervously looking at their buddies. "As if you're maturing into an adult, which is impossible since you little buggers are almost as immature as most boys are at the age of ten."

Some girls Sorah had come across can be incredibly uptight and annoying. She herself came across as incredibly immature.

"Use your bracelets and picture your animal. Come on you can do this."

He walked up behind Sorah and said quietly, "You do know what your animal is, right? I can help you." Sorah nodded, a little unsure, but confident enough to make it seem her skittishness is not getting the better of her. "Good girl." He patted her shoulder and went to the next student.

"Sorah..." Levi murmured, not sounding her best. "For once I don't think I can do this. I can't—it's impossible to do something l-like this when you're sick. Can we go?" Her voice was shaky and weak. At any moment, Sorah feared she was going to collapse.

Professor Cadwell must of heard. He took one look at Levi and said, "Amori, go to the hospital wing in the castle. Stylan, please go with her."

Both didn't question the sudden sternness of his voice and went on their way towards the Hogwarts castle. To steady her, Sorah held onto Levi's arm as she swayed a bit, looking too pale to be normal. It just dawned on Sorah that she had no idea where St. Mungo's is and that she'd have to find a member of the Hogwarts staff and ask them where it is. She couldn't ask Levi to speak up, it was unfair. So as they were walking through the castle halls, she was greeted by a random Hogwarts student who looked to be in Slytherin. This put her more on edge, and the voice in her head told her to walk past and not ask.

"Jeez, mate, what happened to you?" the girl said when they were about to walk past.

Sorah then recognised this girl from when the champions were announced form the Goblet of Fire. Her long, dark brown hair reached the middle of her back and she had blue-to-green-to-brown irises around her pupil. She was taller than Levi and Sorah, which made her all the more intimidating.

"Sick..." said Levi, clearly delirious.

"Oh," she said, "suppose ya looking for the hospital wing?"

If Sorah wasn't who she was (and that is polite and kind) she would have sarcastically replied with, "Well, no. She's sick..." but because she's nice she wouldn't do that. Instead her and Levi just looked at her as if to say, 'well, of course'.

"Come with me," she said with a wave of her hand. Although reluctant to follow this girl they figured they had no choice in the matter and went along with it. Along the hallways of the huge castle, the girl started talking. "I'm Eli by the way, as you must know, otherwise it would be weird me walking you around and not knowing my name. I'm a proud Slytherin, as you can tell." She tugged at her tie a bit with a smirk. "And my family come from New Zealand. What are your names?"

Levi tensed a bit as a wave of dizziness set at her, but she stubbornly pushed it away and kept walking, determined to rest when at the hospital wing. "Levi and Sorah," she croaked out and Sorah instantly felt bad. Her throat was probably killing her.

"I'm guessing you're Levi?" Eli said, pointing at the ginger. Levi nodded. "Ah, and you're Sorah. You're really quiet, you know?"

_This girl is annoying._

"It's okay, I don't bite, but my dog Pesto does. Cheeky little bugger, he is. I named him Pesto because I love pesto sauce. Then again, doesn't everyone? And if you must know, the reason why I'm not in class is because I skipped. I'm such a rebel!"

_Yeah, because the first thing I'm gonna think of you is, "Oh shit, this bitch is gon' bite me."_

Eventually, and finally they arrived at the hospital wing. Eli turned to them, bright smile on her face. "Hope to catch you later. It's always good to make new friends, ya know? And I know we're gonna be really good friends. I can feel it. Bye!" And she hopped off, in a very good mood.

"Well she was annoying," said Levi with a bored look on her face. "Bloody Christ, who knew someone could b-be as irritating and as up their own arse as Hazel?"

Sorah let out a small giggle and the two made their way in.

The nurse there, who wasn't busy at the moment, looked over from when the door opened at a worried look crossed her face. "Oh goodness," she rushed over, "what happened, dear? You look awfully sick." Her and Sorah helped Levi over to a near by bed and Levi gladly laid down on it, letting out a groan of pain. Again, Sorah could sympathise—having someone fuss over you was possibly the worst, even though Sorah fussed over Levi when she's ill. But having all the attention was enough to make someone more sick as they just want to be left alone, along with a refill of water and top up of medicine every once in a while. "Good thing I know quite a bit about Hybrids. I'll try my best." The lady turned to Sorah, a kind smile on her face. "You can stay with her if you want."

Sorah nodded and the nurse left.

"Make sure if I'm not out of here by this evening, get my homework if you please?"

" _Ja_ , sure." Sorah gave a small laugh. She thought entirely about today's events. She was excited to learn more about her animal, but nothing mattered more to her than caring for her best friend. Without Levi, where would she be exactly?


	17. ❀The Second Task❀

The evening before the second task, Sorah had noticed that from the table she was sat at, glasses finally perched on her nose, that Cujo looked to be a dead weight. His cheek rested heavily on the table where his friends were playing some sort of card game. Eyes staring off into an empty void, thoroughly in a depressed state. She was sure it was because he was just nervous and wanted to block out any possible negativity thrown his way.

She ignored it and focused on Levi's homework in front of her.

Since the visit to the hospital wing, Levi hasn't left for the past week, leaving Sorah on her own and for her to do Levi's homework. In a mind sight, she didn't care because Levi would surely do the same for her. On a plus side as well, she'd learn and process a lot more information. She made sure that the two homework's (when in the same class) were different from each other's. The difficult parts were the classes that Sorah didn't do and she had to spend a couple of hours looking through text books to do with that class. She doesn't think she's ever worked so hard on homework or listened so carefully in class before.

A tap on her shoulder brought her nose out of the book and she was not surprised to see Cujo there with a gloomy expression in his eyes. Honestly, a dark cloud was practically hanging over his head.

"Do you know any sort of spell that helps you breath under water?" he said, shoulders slumped. He must have taken notice of the frown Sorah gave him in response. He sighed and pulled out a chair to sit oposite her, knowing full well that she was not comfortable with people she wasn't close with. "You gave me a hint on what to do with the egg underwater." Sorah nodded along and closed the text book by dog-marking it and giving Cujo her full attention. "It sang a song, hinting at something I suppose, along the lines of, 'And hour long you'll have to look, and to recover what we took'. And before that, 'We cannot sing above the ground'. I'm obviously gonna presume that the hour long is underwater, and that's how long I'm limited. For days, I swear, Stylan, I've been looking for days on how to breath underwater or at least hold my breath for an hour, but I cannot find anything. My best option was to see your friend, but she's not here—you're the next best thing."

Sorah wasn't even offended at the fact Cujo basically said Levi was the intelligent one out of the two, but because she knew that, she could not be asked to get offended. Not when it was true, anyway. Levi had that natural talent.

"Please, Stylan." His tone was pleading and desperate. "Talk to me."

Anxiety was pulling at Sorah's strings, but she sucked it up and sighed. "I-I don't know. What about friends?"

"They've tried as well..." said Cujo irritably. "Even eighth years like us can't do something like this, and we have to turn to a fourth year like you." He supposed Sorah, being who she was, wouldn't walk away from that comment. And he was right. She just wanted to make him happy.

"I'll try and find somethin'," she said sighing.

"Thank you so much. Look for as long as you can," he said, getting up. "Meet me tomorrow by the champions lead. That'll give you plenty of time."

Sorah decided then to carry herself up to her room to put all hers and Levi's stuff away before getting ready to make a trip to the Hogwarts library. She hoped she wasn't too late to go there. The time was 4 p.m., so she guessed she had a couple of hours. If she couldn't find anything the she would have to take some library books back to her room. It didn't bother her to stay up all night since she hadn't been able to sleep without so much of Levi being there. The feeling of sleeping on her own was scarier than she thought.

Coat on and tail and ears well enough hidden, she set off outside where it was beginning its first signs of darkness. Clouds blocked the sun like on a normal British day, or evening for that matter. No kids were out playing, the cold nipping at everyone's necks. She hadn't flown in a couple of weeks, and that was about to change soon enough. It looked as if it was going to rain tonight, but if she were to look up the importance of breathing underwater, she would have no time to ask Cola to stretch his wings for the night. They have been going out at least once a week, but it looks as if this week will have to be a hit and miss.

Upon entering the library she was glad to see it was not that busy and started straight away with looking for any sort of books that would be to do with water. She accidentally bumped into someone on the way who pushed her into the bookshelf angrily.

"Stupid kids," he growled.

Sorah rubbed her arm and kept looking. This is going to be harder than she first anticipated.

As the sun started setting over the horizon, she started frantically tearing through page after page of many spells on how to breath underwater. The spells seemed useless now anyways, since they were spells cast by wands; spells from wands can be linked towards the magic from Hybrids bracelets. She came across a Hybrid book and was about to reach up and get it down when someone a tad bit taller than her reached up for a book beside it, brushing hands together.

"Sorry," she said and Sorah saw it to be Hermione. "Oh, Sorah, hi! Didn't see you there. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in the Hybithian dorms?"

Before Sorah could give a short answer, someone spoke before her. "Hermione?" It sounded to be Harry. "Who are you talking to?"

"Sorah's here," she called back as quietly as she could. This is still a library.

"Why?" he sounded as confused as Hermione was.

"Sorah? Who the bloody hell is that?" And that was Ron, by what Sorah remembered.

Hermione picked up her book as well as Sorah and she followed the bushy hair girl from behind. "Sorah, remember, Ronald?" she said, looking at Sorah.

"Oh, hi," he said politely.

"Sorah, what are you doing here?" Harry questioned her who, to Sorah, looked a lot like Cujo did before he got Sorah to 'agree' to do his own homework for him.

She held up the book of Hybrid spells, pointing to the golden egg Harry had beside him.

"You mean Brandaze hasn't found out how to breath underwater either?" he said, hope betraying the tremble in his voice.

Sorah shook her head.

"Is he here with you?"

Sorah shook her head again.

"Oh." He frowned. "Well, that's not how it works. Why are you doing this for him?"

She only shrugged at the question and he sighed.

"You need to talk more. Here, sit down." He offered the seat next to him and she took the place, opening he massive book and started skimming through the pages.

"I don't reckon it can be done," Ron said flatly from the other table. "There's nothing. _Nothing._ Closest was that thing to dry up puddles and ponds, and the Drought Charm, but that was nowhere near powerful enough to drain the lake."

Sorah wanted to say that draining the whole lake was probably against the rules. Being underwater meant you had to do this task underwater, otherwise they would do the task above water. She kept quiet.

"There must be something," Hermione muttered, moving a candle closer to her. Her eyes looked so tired she was literally poring over the copy of the book she was holding. "They'd never have set a task that was undoable."

"They have," said Ron. "Harry, just go down to the lake tomorrow, right, stick your head in, yell at the merpeople to give back whatever they've nicked and see if they chuck it out. Best you can do, mate."

Sorah rolled her eyes, still letting her eyes wander of the lots of different words of spells.

"There's a way of doing it!" Hermione said crossly. "There just _has_ to be!"

Sorah guessed she was taking the library's useless information as a personal insult. She reminded Sorah a lot of Levi, her source to everything through a library.

"I know what I should have done," said Harry, resting, face down on a book. "I should've learnt to be an Animagus like Sirius."

 _Sirius?_ Sorah thought she recognised that name from somewhere, but tried to ignore their on going conversation and read up on more spells to do with water.

"Yeah, you could've turned into a goldfish any time you wanted!" said Ron.

"Or a frog," yawned Harry. The look on his face and posture level symbolised exhaustion. A tug of sympathy crossed over Sorah at that.

"It takes years to become an Animagus, and then you have to register yourself and everything," said Hermione vaguely. "Professor McGonagall told us, remember ... you've got to register yourself with the Improper Use of Magic Office ... what animal you become, and your markings, so you can't abuse it..."

"Hermione, I was joking," said Harry, wearily. "I know I haven't got a chance of turning into a frog by tomorrow morning..." He turned his head to Sorah, and she quickly looked away, blushing. "I wish I was a Hybrid. You guys can turn into your animal, can't you?"

Sorah nodded, now daring a glance at him. His green eyes were dull and didn't have their normal brightness in them.

"Unless you wanna be a Hybrid that's part dragon, then I wouldn't wish to be a Hybrid," said Ron. "I mean, no offence, Sorah..." He said her name carefully, as if asking if he got it right. At Sorah's silence, he shrugged. "Dragon Hybrids are rare, aren't they?"

Sorah looked at him and gave a small nod and smile. This was to assure him that she wasn't uncomfortable with him. He smiled back.

"Oh, this is no use," said Hermione, snapping the book she was currently holding shut. "Who on earth wants to make their nose hair grow into ringlets?"

"I wouldn't mind," said a voice. "Be a talking point, wouldn't it?"

All four teens looked up. The two ginger twins Sorah had seen once before — Fred and George Weasley had just emerged from the bookshelves with someone beside them. Cody, who had a book in hand, stood beside them. The book didn't look like the type of book you would use for homework.

"What're you two doing here?" said Ron. "It's understandable that Blueze is here, she's always in the library. But I don't think I've ever seen you two awake in the library."

 _Oh,_ Sorah thought, _Fred, George and Ron must be brothers._

They look so much alike in a lot of ways. Red hair, freckles, quite tall.

How had she not noticed this sooner?

"We're looking for you," said George. "McGonagall wants you, Ron."

"And you, Granger," said Cody. "Hi, Sorah."

Sorah waved with a shy smile.

"Why?" said Hermione, looking surprised.

"Dunno ... she was looking a bit grim, though," said Fred.

"We're supposed to take you down to her office," said George.

Ron and Hermione stared at Harry. He looked down-right horrible.

"We'll meet you back in the common room," Hermione told Harry, as she got up to go with Ron—both of them looked very anxious. "Bring as many of these books as you can, okay?"

"Right," said Harry uneasily.

"I'm gonna stay here, guys," Cody said to the twins.

"That's fine. Be back soon enough," said Fred. The twins then fist-bumped Cody.

"I've stashed some chocolate frogs for you," said George seriously. 

By the time they were gone, Cody took a seat between Harry and Sorah. "You know," she started, "I may have something to help Brandaze, Sorah." She then turned guiltily to Harry. "But I'm not sure about a wizard. I'm sorry, Potter."

"That's fine," he said with a sad smile. "I've had a lot of help." He went back to looking through the books.

"Here," Cody got up and took out her wand. She waved it a bit to make some books move and she pulled out quite a think one that was tattered at the edges. It read Hybrility for Underwater. "I read about this book back in first year. I swear I remember something about not having to be some sort of water Hybrid to be able to breath underwater."

The book made a small thud when hitting the desk and Sorah eagerly opened it.

Cody sighed. "Why are you doing all of the work for Brandaze? Shouldn't he be doing it himself?"

"He asked me..." she mumbled, taking to the index. It showed very little pages and she found one on page fifty, turning there.

"And for what? This will make it a lot worse, you do realise?" she said, for once sounding annoyed and not her normally bubbly self. "The more you do this for him, the more he'll think it's okay to use you. It's good to help, but not all the time..."

"It's not help," Harry said. "It's basically doing it for him."

"See!" Cody exclaimed and a shushing noise could be heard near them. "Sorry, Madam Pince!" she called and a lady from the book shelf glared whole-heartedly at the girl. When she went away, Cody groaned. "Anyway, Potter knows."

Sorah saw Harry shake his head.

She choose to ignore them because she knew what she was doing. She knew Cujo was using her, but not doing this means she would be hated for not being helpful. And she wanted at least a little recognition in her life.

Cody then pointed to a paragraph, reading, "They'd needn't to use their bracelet for this trick to work, just their natural Hybrility. They can create a breathing exercise that can easily be learnt within the first few minutes, and does not take long to master. No need for air bubbles. It's easy enough to breath under water with gills and without having the water to fill the lungs." She looked at Sorah who stared back. "It says following instructions on the next page, and the spell is called Vatten Charm, Swedish for Water. But because they needed a fancy word, why not just use a different language."

" _Danké_ , Cody," thanked Sorah, closing the book.

"Take that book with you and give it to Cujo," said Cody. "Come on, go. I'm staying here with Potter to help his sorry arse."

Harry scoffed but didn't seem offended.

As soon as Sorah got back to the Hybithian dorms it was pitch black. And she was happy to see Cujo sitting at a table on his own, doing his homework. Like Cody said, get him to do it. She walked over slowly, still considering her options. Cujo looked up at her before she even had time to say anything, and she put the book on the table.

"What's this?" he questioned, looking at the book.

"There es some sort of Charm in there to help you," she said softly. She then started to walk away.

"Wait!" he called. Sorah stopped, and looked over her shoulder. "Can't you help me?"

" _Ja_ , sure," she said defeated.

_Screw doing the rest of mine and Levi's homework, then._

Cujo managed to sneak them both out of the dorms and to the lake in Hogwarts.

For the rest of the night until 3 a.m., Cujo managed to perfect it. As it said in the book, it didn't take very long to perfect. That was absolute rubbish. Sorah was exhausted. Cujo had suggested whilst he was doing it, Sorah should try, but Sorah was too embarressed to admit that she was afraid of water and couldn

Cujo had thanked her by giving her some chocolate. Sorah shrugged it off and brought the chocolate to her bedroom and was delighted to see Levi there, fast asleep and looking very well indeed. She hadn't seen Levi since yesterday as she had no time to visit her today. She was glad she was finally back and looking rather well.

She didn't fall asleep until the wee hours of early morning. That being 5 a.m.

 

* * *

 

 "Get up, Sorah, get up!"

Sorah opened her eyes. She was sitting awkwardly on the side of her bed; she must have stayed up for quite a while longer to finish off some homework. Her thumb was perched in her mouth and she removed it, looking to see Levi there, eyes their now normal shine and a natural, pink colour dusting her cheeks in a healthy flush. She was in a black scarf with her coat and gloves from the February chill.

"Come on, I woke you up an hour ago!" she said a smile planted on her face. Her accent was a bit thick from past sickness. "How long did you stay up last night? I got back around about 7 from the hospital and you weren't here. I figured you were with your brother but after 12 of waiting, I fell asleep."

Sorah was glad that Levi had fallen asleep, since it's better to sleep when you're feeling a little under the weather. She seemed a lot better than she was and later she'd ask Levi what happened. Right now, it seemed she'd have to get up.

Slowly, she got up and stretched, cringing when her shoulder and neck clicked.

"I woke you up earlier," repeated Levi, "what happened?"

Sorah shook her head.

"You were probably half-asleep then. Just wrap up in something warm and you'll be good to go. I'll wait downstairs for you." With a small pat to her shoulder, Levi left Sorah alone.

Sorah got dressed into a light blue hoodie and white ripped jeans with an underlayer. Her coat was still where she left it last time and didn't bother with a scarf and mittens because it was February, not November.

Downstairs was crowded with Hybrids again and she saw that Cujo was nowhere in sight, supposedly on his way to the lake. Straight away she found Levi with her brother Evan and the three started making their way outside into the bitter cold and towards the lake. They saw that the seats that had encircled the dragons' enclosure in November were now ranged along the opposite bank, rising the stands that were packed to bursting point and reflected in the lake below; the excited babble of the crowed echoed strangely across the awaiting water as they made their way up to stands, in search for Sorah's brother and his friends. They weaved their way along the crowd of many diffident students and eventually found someone familiar—Brook was standing there with Fred and George Weasley, meaning that Cody and Hunter must be nearer them as well.

"Hey!" said Levi, tapping Brook and he turned, smiling.

"Hi, stand at the front by Hunter and Cody, since all of you are rather short," he teased. They all did just that, but Evan stayed standing by Brook.

" _Bonjour_ ," Cody said at the same time Hunter said, " _Hallo._ "

The four stood over the railings, looking to see Cedric, Fluer, Krum, Cujo and Harry over by the judges table. From what Sorah could make out, Harry was bending over as if he were out of breath. She sure hoped he was okay and had managed to find something.

"I don't know about 'Arry," said Cody, looking up at Sorah. "I couldn't find anything to 'elp him. So I don't know how 'e's managed to do."

Her accent was thick with morning voice which amused Sorah.

Suddenly, a loud and familiar booming voice sounded across the dark water and across to the stands.

"Well, our champions are ready for the Second Task," barked Ludo Bagman. "Which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One ... two ... three!"

The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air; the stands erupted with cheers and applause. Sorah watched as Cujo ran in deep and a small ora of white seethed around him, and as he dove into the water with Cedric, Fluer and Krum, he didn't come back up to take a breath. She figured it had worked. However, when she looked over at Harry, she found that he was in waist deep, and not going underwater. She felt really bad for him, but that was until he clamped his hands over his throats as if he were struggling to breath ... above the water. Then he dove straight into the water and she caught a glimpse of gills ... he must have found something then, and she no longer worried when he didn't turn up to the top, because if he couldn't breath, he'd resurface.

"Well," said Cody, arms up in the air. "He didn't need my help in the end. Oh well, we developed some sort of bond."

"D-do you have a crush on him or somethin'?" said Hunter.

"No," said Cody, arms crossed over her chest. "I meant friendship. Is it okay for a girl and boy to be friends?"

Hunter put his arms up in defence and Cody started drawing along the lines of the pole they were leaning on.

Sorah figured it would be a rather long hour and let herself sit back, resting her eyes to sleep. Her arms were crossed on the railing and cheek resting on them as she napped. The cold harshly bit at her hands and neck, but she brushed it off, not really caring.

"Don't sleep, you might miss something!" Cody slapped Sorah on the heads and her ears flattened against her head, hissing quietly.

"Calm your shit," said Brook, hand resting on Cody's head. Like she did with Sorah but with Brook's hand, she slapped it away.

"Don't touch me!" Cody slapped his upper arm in mock anger. He chuckled and shook his head. "And anyway I can't because I have no shits to calm."

Sorah giggled and Hunter did as well whereas Levi decided to join in.

They bickered like this for a good ten minutes and Sorah ended up again falling asleep.

It was probably ten minutes before the first champion came up when Sorah woke up again. She didn't feel well rested, but at least she got a little nap. Her hands were numb from the cold and her neck felt stiff from the position she was laying in. Levi was also asleep beside her, glasses askew and flushed from the cold. Her presence made her feel a lot more relaxed and happy. She didn't realise how much she missed Levi until she was ill for that week.

"Look! It's Cedric!" said Evan, pointing over Levi's shoulder. She jumped awake and nearly dropped her glasses over the edge.

"Wait, Krum's there too!" shouted Cody.

Cedric looked to be helping the girl he had gone to the Yule Ball with out of the water whereas Krum was helping Hermione, who he went to the Yule Ball with.

 _Wow_ , Sorah thought annoyed, _the most precious thing they missed was their girlfriends_. If she were a champion, she'd probably miss Hunter or Levi the most.

Just then, Cujo also emerged from the pool and with him was his little brother, which lightened up Sorah a bit. His little brother was in fourth year, she now remembered and his name was Leo.

"Where's Harry?" said Levi sleepily.

A worrying feeling surged inside Sorah and she was pulled to the realisation that Harry was stuck. Because then suddenly, Ron and a girl no older than eight-years-old surfaced the water. Fluer was then, Sorah noticed, by the judges table, looking worriedly at her sister, Sorah supposed. Fluer obviously didn't complete the task.

Her natural Hybrid instincts told her to dive in, and she started hurriedly climbing up on the railing.

"Sorah, what are you _doing?!_ " shouted Levi, trying to pull her back. A few people looked over and started pointing.

"SORAH!" She felt someone — her brother — pull at her tail.

It was too late though.

Sorah dove into the water, and the sudden pierce of coldness flooded her. She was in the deep end and opened her eyes, which was painful to do. It was just a little bit blurry, but she could see as her Wolf Hybrids' nature took over and she began to swim, looking around her. She could hear something of what sounded like a struggling battle. Turning her body to the right, she found a load of what looked like merpeople surrounding something. Then a blast of water scared them away. Sorah was sighted with Harry, gills fading away and what looks to be fins also disappearing from his hands and feet. Whatever it is he used to help him survive under the water, it was now wearing off.

Sorah had the sense to know she couldn't talk under water, and as she was struggling to swim towards Harry, panic settling within her chest. She couldn't breath and it was making her head swim with dizziness. She was then all of a sudden pulled back and something was on her tail. She tried turning around but that only caused a sickening crack sound and she accidentally sucked in a load of filthy lake water. Turning around a second time, ignoring the pain in her tail and lungs, she saw a few merpeople. With the strength she could muster, she waved her hands around and shot a bright, white light at them. They scattered, now suddenly really scared of the she-Hybrid.

Then she went towards Harry and grabbed his hands that were ice cold and stiff. She pulled up, pushing and kicking at the water's force with her legs to float to the top. Harry struggled, now noticing he was getting some help and tried pushing himself up. It felt to Sorah they weren't going to make it and again she accidentally sucked in a load of water, which caused her breath to finally run out. Now she wished she learned that water charm with Cujo last night.

It wasn't the act of helping Harry that seemed to of drew her to the water. 

Instead, as soon as she lifted Harry to float towards the top, her eye caught it.

The shine moulded against the waters waves, so the looks of the object didn't fit very well in her eyes.

The sense that she couldn't breathe dominated her body to start moving upwards, and eventually, she broke the surface. Automatically, she grabbed hold of Harry, who was still struggling. She pulled him towards everyone and they were both helped up.

As soon as she saw everyone see to Harry, she was brought back towards the object in the water that beckoned her forwards into the danger. 

Hunter ran up to her, others behind him, yelling at her at how dim-witted that had been. 

Her legs were like jelly and she collapsed, heaving the water and spluttering it out from offending her lungs any further. 

"Sorah, can you ... me?"

Everything was such a blur, and she felt a heavy weight on her head it seemed. Her lungs were still full of water.

A loud booming voice sounded and Sorah could only make out bits, her vision blurry and ears hard of hearing.

"Ladies and ... our ... Marcus has told us ... fifty for each ... Bubble-Head Charm ... attacked ... Cedric Diggory..."

Sorah was then hauled to her feet and she instinctively shook, surely making water droplets go everywhere. Levi was warming her and she heard Professor Cadwell's voice and he was then beside her, helping her move across the grounds.

She had no other memory of what happened after that.


	18. ❀Hogsmeade and Butterbeer❀

Days turned into weeks after the Second Task.

The time Sorah had woken up she was in the Hospital Wing, Levi and Hunter by her side. Cody was sitting on the end of the soft bed, eating some chocolate whilst Brook and Evan were nowhere to be seen.

The nurse, Madam Promfy, had mended her tail and was told to stay off of it for few weeks, which irritated Sorah. Then again, she did decide to rescue Harry from that God-awful lake. She had then asked about Harry, and how he was. He was completely fine and had gone back with his friends. She was flushed and embarrassed to find out that he had visited her during the evening to see if she was okay. She hadn't woken up until the next morning.

She couldn't stop thinking of that object in the water. It was another thing for a different time, she thought to herself. But that doesn't mean she is going to completely ignore it. 

Once she was released, Hunter walked her along the corridor, carefully watching how she stretched her tail to exercise it. Conveniently they had bumped into Harry and he had thanked her, and also apologising for what happened. She told him it was fine and walked on again. The vibe she got from him was well collected and calm again. It made her happy and more determined to carry on with the day.

Levi, much like Sorah had done for her, fussed over her health and made sure the younger Hybrid did her normal tail exercises. It would be a long time before she could beat at her tail to get her off the ground to rise Cola. Because Professor Dumbledore told her no flying until she was well again. Sorah deflated at the news. They were treating her like she couldn't look after herself; she sure as well can; she isn't fragile.

At this very moment they were learning about their animals again, all sitting outside in the dry month of March. Still quite chilly to put coats on, but dry enough for them to be able to sit on the grass. Sorah and Levi were sat by the lake, and saw that all the stands from February were gone.

"How far are you with the essay?" Levi asked.

"Half," said Sorah. "What bout' you?"

"Nearly done," said Levi cheekily. "It's really not that hard."

"I know..." said Sorah. She didn't find it hard at all, but Levi has to realise that not everyone shares her gift and therefore don't write things down as fast.

There was another minute or two of silence when Levi spoke again, this time putting down her Hybology book and pen. "I wanted to talk to you about something," she said. Sorah twitched her ear to show she was listening. "I've heard that if you want you can change schools."

This perked Sorah's interest immediately and she put down her stuff, looking at Levi who was looking out at the lake.

"Hybithia's great an' all," she said shrugging, "but I've kind of went through it with Professor Holden. She thought, and I did too, that we'd be happier ... here."

"Hybrids though..."

"Professor Holden said Hybrid or not, wherever your happiness is, that's where you ought to be. Think about it, Sorah. Have you or I ever been this happy in the years of Hybithia?"

" _Nein_ ... But, we don't know anythin' bout' being a wizard. No vands, no experience—"

"And we can learn. There's your brother, who is incredibly smart. There's Brook, who can be smart when his head isn't in his own arse. And then there's Cody who'll give us sweets if we do something right."

"We are not dogs," giggled Sorah.

"You're a wolf," Levi pointed out.

"Meh."

"C'mon, Sorah," said Levi, "we're smart — what's to say we can't learn first, second and third and even fourth year stuff in half a year. And we're Hybrids, we're the smartest creatures recorded in history!"

Levi has never been this vain. But it was the only way to convince Sorah. 

"If they're willing to help," said Sorah.

"Of course they're willing to help," said Levi. "It's obvious enough that you and Hunter can't live without each-other, so he'd be over the rainbow about it. Literally. Plus, I'm not being mean, but the Hybrid community haven't been exactly fair with us. Look at how we're treated—"

" _Ja_ , but you wouldn't be treated like thet if it veren't for someone like me," said Sorah. "If I v-wasn't around, you wouldn't get picked on. It's because you are best friends with me."

"Well, I'm sorry," said Levi, "I would never turn back and change that. What better friend could I ask for? You're always there for me. Don't put yourself down all the time—and don't look at me like that" —she said this as Sorah raised an eyebrow at her— "I'm aware of how much of a hypocrite I'm being, but I'm serious."

" _Pfft_ ," Sorah huffed out and picked up her book again. She could sense that the she-Hybrid was waiting for some sort of response and she sighed, writing down more of her essay. "I do want to move to Hogwarts," she said. She thought about Harry, Hunter, Brook, Cody ... Malfoy... "But wouldn't it be difficultss?"

"We'll manage," said Levi. Hauling herself to her feet, she offered her hand to Sorah who happily accepted it, now standing up with her friend. The girl was noticeably smaller than Sorah by a good inch which made her pout. "Since when did you get so tall? It's unfair..."

Sorah didn't consider herself as 'tall'. She was quite sure to be at least 5'3, whereas Levi was stuck at 5'2 and a half. But she was sure to grow.

It was the time to get back to their lesson, and even though Sorah didn't manage to finish her essay, she could easily finish it tonight. Once back to the class, they saw they were one of the lasts back. Many were handing in their assignments and Sorah felt a weight of anxiety tug down on her, her breathing ragged. It wasn't to do with the late assignment, it was something else. A cold sweat broke out on her and she concentrated on just walking up to Professor Cadwell and talking him about how she could do it that same night and hand it to him tomorrow. He had said that if the essay's were done then they could go on the Hogsmeade trip this Saturday.

She didn't know where it suddenly came from, but as soon as it had started, as soon as it was back to normal again. The cold sweat was gone. Her chest didn't feel heavy with that elephant she carried around. She was fine again. The only evidence left was her eyes that were dreamily staring at the things around her.

"Sir?" she lisped and he looked down with a kind smile. "I haven't finished—"

"Stylan?" said Professor Cadwell. He clicked his fingers in front of her making her blink. "You looked dazed."

"Essay," breathed Sorah and she could see Levi frowning from beside her who had already handed in her paper. "Cans I finish it tonight?"

"Of course you can," said Professor Cadwell. "Just make sure you hand it in first thing in the morning tomorrow. You're a good student Sorah, so I'll let you off."

Her and Levi made their way towards the Hybithian dorms, ready for their next lessons which was Hypnosis.

"Are you okay?" asked Levi concerned. "You seemed a little off there."

" _Ja_ ," replied Sorah. "Just tired."

"Get a good nights rest tonight, okay?"

" _Ja_."

In the Hypnosis classroom they had made, she was once again paired with Greyson as they were told to be with their partners for the rest of the year and maybe next year if they seem to still be struggling. Sorah thought that if she wasn't going to consider moving to Hogwarts then she wouldn't have Greyson as a partner next year.

"This time I'd like you to command your partner, tell them what to do," said Professor Abner.

During this time, Sorah looked down at her bracelet which was glowing a bright white again, and she wasn't even using her magic. It squeezed tightly around her wrist like it had done a few months back and like then, it hurt. All the blood was being blocked, and she wanted to desperately take the blasted thing off. She only took it off when needed, but because she was in class it was not a good idea.

"Stylan, eyes up!" Abner snapped his fingers. "Concentration is key."

Sorah glared at Greyson, eyes squinting until he was still again and she sighed, waving a hand in front of his face. She then quickly snapped her fingers and he came out of a trance.

He smirked. "I think you enjoy this," he said. "How do you do it?"

Sorah only shrugged, not being much of a help. 

Over the next few days, Sorah had handed in her essay and they had another lesson on the transformations of their animals. In the next couple weeks they will be onto the physical level and first starting to take form.

At some point during the week, Levi and Sorah had the pleasant experience of Cody being in a really bad mood. They didn't question it, only when Brook shoved a magazine that was named Witch Weekly in Levi's hands, saying that this was the rout of Cody's behaviour.

> **_A boy like no other, perhaps—yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence._ **

"This is by Rita Skeeta," muttered Brook. "She likes to make up stories, but because it's Potter, Cody's not very happy."

    The girls read on:

> **_Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss._ **  
>  **_Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgaria Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he 'never felt this way about another girl.'_ **  
>  **_However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms which have captured these unfortunate boys' interests._ **  
>  **_"She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student. "But she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing."_ **

"She's not ugly," growled Levi and Sorah shook her head. Hermione isn't ugly, she'd have to agree.

> **_Love Potions are of course banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate._ **

"This is all so ridiculous," growled Levi, shoving the magazine back Brook's way. "If Cody's gullible enough to believe that, then she needs to grow up a bit more. I'm not offended that Hermione Granger's potentially going off with boys. It's not true!" She stormed off.

"Welp, that has effected her," said Brook, looking down at Sorah. It was the two of them left outside the Hogwarts castle. "Looks like she's got a little bit of a crush on Hermione."

Sorah made a disgusted face and shook her head. She liked Harry, but it didn't have an impact on her because she knew it wasn't true. Plus, she wasn't one to get their hopes up.

When it was Saturday, the day of the Hogsmeade trip, the weather seemed milder than it had been all year so Sorah suggested that they needn't any coats. They all still dressed up in something warm, and Sorah dressed in a pastel tie-dye hoodie and normal white ripped jeans with tie-dyed vans.

Cody had tagged along with Hunter, Sorah, Brook, Levi and Evan. The older twin of the Amori's had started hanging out a lot more with them and away from his friends. His sister must of told him about the moving to Hogwarts suggestion. Levi had told Sorah that Evan is going to come with them when moving (if they move). Evan didn't exactly have the greatest friends.

"Wanna get some sweets?" Brook suggested. He pointed to a shop that was coloured with many sweets and chocolate alike.

" _Oui!_ " said Cody, excitedly clapping her hands.

"Of course a Gryffindor like you would want to go into somewhere like here," Brook said with an eye roll.

All piled into the small and sweet-smelling shop. Sorah stared lovingly at a few lollipops. As she wasn't a very big chocolate person, she had a sweet tooth for lollies and gummy's alike.

"I've g-got a f-few galleons," said Hunter, "so choose to your hearts con-content."

Sorah was proud of herself and her brother; ever so slowly the two were getting better at English. And Hunter and Sorah had been meeting up under the tree him and Brook normally stay, just so Sorah can help Hunter with his stutter. Soon enough, they'll be able to get rid of the stupid way they can't pronounce their W's and clear up on a few mis-said words.

Sorah picked up a red and white lolly, giving it to Hunter so he could pay for it. Levi picked up some chocolate buttons whilst Evan choose some lickerish wands. Brook picked up some things for him and Hunter whilst Cody literally picked every sweet and chocolate on the shelf.

"Got enough there, love?" the lady at the register chuckled.

"Fuck no," said Cody.

The lady only shook her head at the terrible language the girl came out with and Hunter sighed, glaring half-heartedly at Cody.

" _Was ist das?_ " exclaimed Cody, holding up some sweet. Sorah could easily say that Cody was trying to speak German, but didn't know enough, so her speech came out as, _"Vhat es gloose?"_ which means, _"What is this?"_

"Are you making fun of our language?" Hunter deadpanned.

"No!" said Cody. "Jesus, you can't make an opinion in the 1990's! God knows what it's gonna be like in 2016 or something!"

Cody eventually had selected a decent amount of sweets and Hunter was made to pay for them. He thankfully had enough money to pay for the sweets Cody shoved his way.

"Thank you for the money, lovely," she said to Hunter.

"You are very velcome," said Hunter as they walked out.

Sorah trailed behind, stuffing her sweets into the pockets of her backpack. Her eyes then caught Malfoy and his friends. Only then did she realise her friends had taken another route to her, and she was left walking towards them.

"Mongrel alert! Mongrel alert!" chanted the pug-faced girl, Pansy Parkinson.

Malfoy noticed this and quickly shook his head. Sorah stayed to the side, looking past him but shaking her head like he did.

"You alright, Stylan?" he said nonchalant. 

Even Sorah wasn't expecting that.

Parkinson and the other two, a dark-skinned boy and another boy, both taller than Malfoy and Parkinson, took their time to grasp at what had come from his mouth like a boy greeting an old friend. 

Sorah then nodded in her own greet, smiling politely. 

Parkinson sneered.

"Be nice, Pansy. She was just walking by."

The dark-skinned boy scoffed. "Care to buy her a Butterbeer then, Malfoy?"

Fianlly, Sorah met Malfoy's eyes. He nodded, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Why not?"

The boy beside Malfoy shook his head in astonishment. "I think you've quote your head on a rock, mate." But he didn't sound as enthusiastic about calling Sorah any less names than Parkinson. He seemed a little too chilled out. 

Draco gestured along, eyebrows raised. "Join us then, Stylan? You can see what it's like to be a real wizard."

"Honestly, Draco, what would your father say?"

Either Malfoy didn't hear that, or he chose to ignore it, because he led Sorah and the rest of them along towards a place called The Three Broomsticks.

Inside was packed with many wizards and witches, older and thei age. Sorah was relieved to see that she was not the only Hybrid. It seemed as if Cujo and his gang decided to visit as well. 

The boy, who's name was Theadore Nott, and the other, Blaise Zabini, strolled along to find a place to sit whilst Sorah, Malfoy and Parkinson took to lining up for a small Butterbeer for each. 

"You better be buying, Stylan," said Parkinson with a hint of annoyance in her tone. "Trust me, I know who your father is, and being a succeeding Wizard Journalist is not going to leave you poor."

"I will admit, your father has his good traits about him," mumbled Malfoy, but Sorah heard it. She wasn't offended at all. But she doens't like to talk of her family's wealth, because, yes, they are incredibly comfortable with what they have got, but she's not going to brag about it. 

Then, realising what Parkinson said, made her turn to her with her eyebrows raised. "How do you know my Dad?"

It wasn't a case of they have the same last names, because they don't.

Parkinson snorted. "Draco told me of your encounter with each-other t the Qudditch World Cup, and I instantly recognised the name Declan Spencers from the reports on the Daily Prophet."

"Fair enough," mumbled Sorah. 

She gave her money to Malfoy who gladly took it and in return brought back five lasting, bubbling Butterbeer's.

They took their seats by Theodore and Blaise.

Sorah sat on the end by the left, awkwardly trying to get comfortable from the Slytherins staring at her grudgingly. 

"Ever had Butterbeer?" asked Theodore. He had no such emotion in his voice, bored out of his mind. 

Sorah shook her head.

"Well, it's delicious," said Malfoy with the shrug of his shoulders. "How about you actually try some?"

Unable to glare at him, she did so, and thankfully, everyone else followed suit. 

It was, as Malfoy quoted, delicious. Though the taste is rather peculiar, the sweetness and cream from the fizz made up for the other strange taste.

The others talked among themselves.

Malfoy made the effort to talk to Sorah more.

"I would have gotten you alone," said Malfoy. "It's hard to shake off a load of paranoid friends."

"Peranoid?" 

Draco rolled his eyes and his eyes flickered dangerously. "Suspect you're surprised I have friends, Stylan."

There was a short pause of Sorah taking a sip of her Butterbeer before answering the boy. "It's not that."

Malfoy huffed out a laugh, still a small frown furrowing his eyebrows. "Well, your brother and his friend always suspected that."

Sorah gave him a perplexed look to show she didn't understand by what he meant by that.

He leaned in close, the scent of his own assaulting Sorah's own bubble, lie he didn't want his friends to hear. 

"This may come as a surprise to you, Sorah-Bella, but your brother isn't the angel he makes himself out to be."

Sorah still sat bewildered by his comment.

There were constantly mixed signals from this boy. One minute he wants to be friends, and the next he pushes her friendships affection away. Mutely, he had juts insulted her brother, and she felt rather angry at this. 

Not wanting to cause an argument, Sorah started to stand up, taking her Butterbeer with her.

"Leaving so soon, Stylan?" Pansy drooled.

She nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder and saying a quiet goodbye to everyone. Only Theodore acknowledged that whilst Malfoy followed her outside.

"I'm trying, Stylan," he said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

People standing outside of the little pub moved away to let the two come out. It was further to the side of an alley that he stopped her again. 

"What else do you want me to do? Because I don't know how to do it."

She finally met his eyes, struggling to try and not pull away and took a hold of his hand with the softness of her own. He looked down, a little split between taking it away or staying within her comfort. He decided on the latter, despite being torn with it. 

"I know you're trying, Malfoy," she said quietly. "If you ever need help, come to me. And ... and if anyone es giving your grief for this, come to me."

At his hesitance, she continued softly. 

"I want to help you because I want to be your friend. There's more to ones morality than insulting someone just for the sake of zer blood. Do you understand that? It's okay if you don't."

Stop talking. Stop talking, now.

"I don't know," Malfoy said honestly. His signature glare was on his face again, letting go of Sorah's hand. "I don't need your help, Stylan." 

Sorah grimaced, her ears twitching. "I'll be here until the end of this year."

Malfoy nodded. "I know."

No one mentioned Sorah's disappearance when she returned to her friends. 

 


	19. ❀Nyla the Niffler❀

For once, after the constant lessons on their animal transformations, a day off was allowed and Hybrids around allowed themselves to enjoy the presence of no lessons. They spent their time doing some of their homework, lounging around or just wondering the Hogwarts' grounds.

Sorah took this opportunity to wonder around the Hogwarts grounds as Levi spent her time doing her homework. She told her she had Potions to finish. Sorah had managed to complete everything apart from her Potions. She just hates Potions with a passion, so she normally ended up doing it the night before.

She wanted to see if she could meet up with either Cody, Hunter or Brook. She knew because it was a week day and lessons are going on, it was most unlikely. However, she was pleasantly surprised to see Hunter walking on his own towards her.

"Hunter!" she called, but not loud enough to draw any unwanted attention.

Her brother looked up from his book and gave her a dimpled smile. "Hallo. Vhat are you doing?"

Hunter caught up with her and Sorah said, "Nothin'. I'm bored..."

There was a minute of silence of just walking when Hunter spoke up. "How bout' you c-c-come to class vv-with me? I'm on my way to Care of Magical Creatures, and I'm s-sure Hagrid von't mind you being there. It's not bad..." his words jumbled up, not really knowing what to say. "I don't think it's against the school rules."

"Probably not," said Sorah shrugging. "I'll come anyway, because I'm bored with nothing else to do."

Hunter explained what they were currently doing in Care of the Magical Creatures with Hagrid. They were currently dealing with these horrible beasts called Screwts, and they were a right nuisance to the class. Hunter wished they were doing something different, other than having to deal with a load of them.

Students started walking with them as a sign that they were also with the class. In some way, Sorah felt a little isolated as she was in her Hybithian school uniform, white tie, white polo shirt with navy blue jumper whereas the Hogwarts students wore shirts with grey sweaters and cloaks—the colour of their tie's and cloaks the same as their house colour. It didn't help that she also had wings to try and hide with her ears flat against her head and tail wrapped around her leg.

"Sorah!" barked a familiar voice and she looked up to see Hagrid, beaming down at her. She smiled shyly. "Suppose you'll be joinin' us today! Brilliant! The more th' merrier! Come with me!"

They all walked on past Hagrid's hut and more so into the Forbidden Forest. They stopped just outside it, actually really near Madam Maxine's pegasi and carriages. He stood and at his feet were a bunch of crates. Hunter groaned from beside Sorah, probably thinking a Screwt hatching—but as they got close enough to look inside, Sorah was awed by the sight of many fluffy black creatures with long snouts. She'd read about these in the book _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. They were Nifflers, who were creatures looking a lot like platypuses in the Muggle world, but not quite. They had fluffy black fur with long, pink snouts and curiously flat feet, much like blunt spades.

"These're Nifflers," said Hagrid, when the class had gathered around. "Yeh find 'em down mines, mostly. They like sparkly stuff ... there yeh go, look."

One of the Niffler's had suddenly leapt out at a girl. The Niffler took a nick at her watch on her wrist. She shrieked and jumped backwards.

"Useful little treasure detectors," said Hagrid's happily. "Thought we'd have some fun with 'em today. See over there?" He pointed at a large patch of freshly turned earth. "I've buried some gold coins. I've got a prize fer whoever picks the Niffler that dogs up most. Jus' take off all her valuables, an choose a Niffler an' get ready ter set 'em loose."

Hagrid gave Sorah a huge grin and pointed to her bracelet that was again sparkling and pinching at her wrist. She decided it would be best to take it off as it looked like she wouldn't be using any sort of powerful magic this lesson. She then carefully and slowly bent down and picked up a Niffler. It seemed very calm in her hold and she walked off to the side, away from the mass of students. It put it's long snout at Sorah's neck, tickling her a bit. They were ever so cuddly.

"They're so cute!" said Hunter, standing next to Sorah. His Niffler was busy nipping at his ear and hair making him giggle.

"Everyone here today, then?"" Hagrid had questioned. "Since Sorah took one, there's none left."

"Oliva isn't here" said a boy from the right.

Checking to see no one was looking, Sorah let her and the Niffler stare at each other for a moment before speaking: "What's your name?" she whispered.

It sniffed her and relaxed just a little bit more. "Nyla," he said.

"I'm Sorah," she said back.

"It's rare to talk to humans," he said after a bit, cuddling up to Sorah more. "It's a gift, you've got."

" _Ja_ ," agreed Sorah. "Are there really gold coins under the earth?"

The Niffler smiled. "Let's find out."

It was one of the most fun lessons Sorah has had in a while. They didn't do anything to do with animals or creatures for that matter at school. The Nifflers dived in and out of the earth as if it were water, easily bringing back many gold coins. Nyla brought back a lot for Sorah. Nyla was also competing against Hunter's Niffler and they fought playfully for a bit. Sorah looked around her to find all the other students were having fun.

"Can we buy these as pets, Hagrid's?" a girl asked excitedly, as her Niffler dived back into the soil, splattering his robes.

"Yer mum wouldn' be happy, Lillia," said Hagrid's, grinning, "they wreck houses, Nifflers. I reckon they've nearly got the lot now," he added, pacing the patch of earth, while the Nifflers continued to dive.

Sorah's Niffler, Nyla, had given up long ago and was currently seated in her lap as she stroked him. "Not all Nifflers wreck houses," he had grumbled and Sorah giggled. "But gold is key," he added.

"I on'y buried a hundred coins."

Some Niffler's were still diving in and out of the earth, but none coming back as quickly as they were before, turning up empty-clawed/pawed. Nyla had chuckled humorously at the dim-wits he had called, waving them off as they sent tiny, beady glares at him.

"Well, let's check how yeh've done!" said Hagrid. "Count yer coins! I must say, there ain't no point in stealin any!" His beetle-black eyes narrowed. "It's leprechaun gold. Vanishes after a few hours."

Hagrid gave an enormous slab of Honeydukes chocolate as a girls prize since her Niffler managed to collect the most. The bell rang across the grounds for lunch; the rest of the class set off back to the castle. When Sorah got up, Nyla made his way to her shoulder and sat there, very content. Sorah decided in staying with Hunter to help clean up for Hagrid. As it was only lunch-time next, being late was not a problem.

"Your Niffler seems awfully attactched to you," said Hunter. Nyla stayed seated, not wanting to leave Sorah.

"Ah," said Hagrid, with a wave of his hand. "If he wan's to stay with yeh, then I'll allow it. Just be careful."

Sorah gasped and smiled brightly. She got to keep a Niffler! Could this day get any better? Nyla affectionately nips at her neck, a small smile lining his face.

"You're allowing a student—not even in our school—to take one of our Nifflers?" said Hunter. It wasn't that he sounded angry—or even agitated by this—but generally surprised. He did make sense; why on earth would you give a girl, who doesn't even go to your own school, or even a witch of that, something that is obviously in the hands of that school itself. Even Sorah was a bit confused.

"It's practise, isn' it?" said Hagrid happily. "That Niffler seems to like you. And you like him. I believe in the perfect match. Don' sweat about it."

Sorah thanked Hagrid, a burst of energy finally settling itself within her. Ever since she was a little girl, being surrounded by the forest and all, she had always been eager to collect as many animals as she could. Declan and Becca never rejected the idea. In fact, the thoroughly encouraged it. Though, they did tell her to be careful and avoid over doing it; they didn't want a bunch of animals roaming around their home. She now believed that maybe she could start right now, as the possibility of actually achieving it was far-fetched. However, now that she had discovered her true talent for communicating and taming animals, she beloved it was possible.

On the way back to the castle, Nyla was happily content by staying on her shoulder and napping. Hunter kept on going on about how Hagrid had allowed her to keep the Niffler.

"His name es Nyla," she said, as said Niffler got comfortable on her right shoulder. "And me and Hagrid haff met before," she continued as they made their way to the Great Hall. "He knows about my special talent for animals. Maybe he thought I'd improve by having Nyla. I'm so happy!"

Hunter chuckled and they found their seats, seeing Brook and Levi there. Both gushed over Sorah's Niffler, saying how lucky she was.

"He's adorable!" Levi said, stroking the top of the sleeping Niffler's head. He stirred but then relaxed again and the soothing feeling.

To say the least, Professor Cadwell wasn't very happy about Sorah having a Niffler as a pet. Nyla had seen something incredibly shiny on his neck and attacked him for it. He told Sorah to keep him away and shook his head when Sorah giggled. Nyla promised Sorah to not grab at every little shiny thing he saw, but because it was his nature, it was rather difficult. Whenever he saw her bracelet shining a bright white colour, he started chewing at it. Soon enough he will learn his lesson since it sometimes backfires at him, sending him across the room. First time it happened Sorah was really worried, checking for any possible injuries and when he had told her he was fine, just a bit of a headache (every time it happened), she'd laugh.

Sometimes Sorah would leave Nyla with Levi when she had a lesson or something else and she'd get back to see them either sleeping or Nyla helping Levi with her work.

Hazel didn't take a liking to Nyla, either.

" _Ah! Stylan!_ Your bloody black Platypus is trying to take my necklace!"

Others had laughed at her because they knew what she was like to Sorah. This had happened when Sorah walked back to her room to grab something and when she got down, Nyla was on Hazel, biting at her necklace.

"Nyla," Sorah said softly and he happily let go of Hazel, bounding back over to Sorah and taking his rightful place on her shoulder.

"By the way, he's a Niffler," said Levi, "most Platypuses come in the colour brown and have the feet of a duck. Oh, and fun fact, they are from Australia, not Britain."

"And you call us stupid," said Millie who was also there.

"She has a point," said Zuri, surprising all of them. Hazel glared at her, daring her to carry on. "Why would Stylan even have a Platypus? You don't get your spirit animal until you've learned how to turn into your own animal. By then, you'd have the responsibility looking after a let who is also somewhat your Guardian Angel—"

"Stylan doesn't even know her animal!" Hazel protested, annoyed that her best friend was standing up for the one girl they both despise. Or maybe Zuri once had.

"She's a wolf," said Levi, "we found it out ages ago. But unlike you, when we find out something amazeballs, we don't go around, flailing our arms, shouting, _'Holy fuck guys! Look at this! I'm a genius! Wow! Look at me!'_."

A ring of laughter left many students and Hazel flushed, taking Zuri's wrist and dragging them out into the Hogwarts grounds.

 

* * *

 

When the Easter holiday's came about, Hunter and Sorah met up outside of the Hogwarts grounds as Declan's owl swooped in and gave them two large packages. They gave his owl a little money and some seeds for their appreciation. Sorah made sure to give a letter to Declan about her experiences so far and about Nyla.

They opened the package to see two giant Easter eggs that were filled with many different chocolates inside.

"There goes my diet," said Hunter and picked up a chocolate frog.

Nyla, who was in Sorah's lap, climbed out and sniffed inside the Easter egg. He then picked out a packet of smarties and looked at Sorah for permission. She nodded smiling and he happily opened to packet and ate a few of them.

When Sorah had entered her's and Levi's little room, she flung two packs of smarties at the ginger (who was sipping a cup of tea, glasses off) and a card from Brook that said: _**"Merry Easter, my favourite ginger-ming! Love Brook :)".**_

"The hell?" Levi cried, but her smile failed to show her annoyance.

"From Brook," said Sorah, sitting down on her own bed. "He likes making his own cards."

"I can see that," said Levi as she held up hers with a giggle.   


* * *

 

It was soon coming up to her birthday, May 13th, and she was finally going to turn fifteen. It feels like she's been fourteen for ages, and she felt rather babyish compared to all the people she was now hanging out with. Hunter turned sixteen in October last year, and he didn't make such a big deal out of it. Not that Sorah did. She just gave sneaky hints to her friends.

And when her birthday did roll around, Cody had somehow found out and showered her in sweets. Hunter gave her a wolf plushie as well as Levi giving her a pony plushie. Nyla came up to her and gave her some skittles because she had told him it was her favourite Muggle sweets.

"Where did you get them from?" she had asked the small creature.

"I'd rather not tell you," he said.

To show her appreciation she bundled the fluffy thing in her arms anyway and squeezed him into a hug.

Cody had then taken him, cuddling him and saying how envious she was of her. Nyla really enjoyed Cody's company and bubbly personality, but preferred it with Sorah as she was calm and quiet.

Brook then came along and gave her a card and some and a Stephen King book, **IT**.

"Would have given this to Levi for her birthday in March, but then I remembered ... _'Oh, yeah. She hates horror. Bloody brilliant'_. But the book _is_ bloody brilliant! Not sure what your opinions are on horror, but..."

Sorah cut him with a hug. " _Danké!_ I love horror!" Her squeal startled him but he hugged back, swaying slightly.

Declan and Becca has sent over presents together. She received new paints and a couple of Roald Dahl book: Matilda, The BFG and Fantastic Mr. Fox .

All in all, it was a brilliant day. She had so much fun with her friends. And Levi and Hunter made a little cake together, which they had taken outside when they all (her, Hunter, Levi, Cody, Brook and Evan and Nyla) were sitting under a big oak tree.

"Since when do you cook?" Brook had directed this question at Hunter, who seemed rather proud.

"Since Levi taught me how to," he said simply which earned a playful kick to his shin from Brook. 

Sorah truly felt she had found her friends. Maybe not all of them, but most of them. She was getting there. 

"Have you heard?" Brook said when all of them were laying by the lake.

Sorah and Levi had their final assessment to give in and then it was time to change into their animals. It had taken months to do this, and they were determined to get it right. The may wind around them let them sit comfortably under the warm sun. Other students were out as well, making the most of the rare Britain sun.

Cody and Evan were busy playing Exploding Snap and Hunter was sketching out the scenery in front of him.

"Heard what?" said Cody, looking away from their game for the moment.

"I overheard Granger talking something like Mr. Crouch—"

"The Quadwizard Tournament judge?" said Evan.

"Yeah," nodded Brook. "Apparently he's gone ... vanished somewhere."

"What?" Levi sounded amused, as if she didn't believe in the story. "That's ridiculous. He couldn't just disappear."

"Well, unless you know any more information about it, let me know, Einstein," he grumbled with an eye roll.

Nyla yawned and stretched his paws out across Sorah's written essay. "When are you gonna be done?"

Sorah smiled tiredly at him. "Soon."

"What?" Levi looked up from her paper.

"Nyla," mumbled Sorah and the Niffler licked at her hand.

It wouldn't be long until the school year is over—over and done with the Third Task, Animal Transfiguration and arrangements to join Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They still had yet to tell Professor Cadwell. And that was probably what Sorah was most anxious about. He was a great teacher. Patient and kind. It wasn't his fault some got picked on. He did as much as he could. But he couldn't do anything.

Sorah sure hopes that he'll forgive them.


	20. ❀Flight of the Wolves❀

"What is that about a joke shop?" Evan asked, looking down at Cody. "You said those twins, Fred and George wanted to start a joke shop."

"That's right," replied Cody. "But their family are terribly poor. I wish I knew a way to help them."

"They'd need a lot of gold to get what the want," said Brook.

"A joke shop would fit you just fine, Cody," commented Hunter, a nod of his head.

"Maybe ... but I want to carry out my family tradition," Cody picked at something on top of her lolly. "We have a bakery back in France," she said this with a heavy French accent. "We also have one here in Britain. As you can guess most of my family are back in France, but my parents and siblings are in England."

"Why don't you stay here in England?" said Brook.

"Cody gave him a blank expression. "Mate, we're in the midst of Scotland."

"Ohhh yeah..." said Brook with a light chuckle.

Cody spazzed her hand at him, mocking his stupidity. 

It was currently lunchtime and the teens had just walked out of the Great Hall, full up from lunch. Nyla sneaked a bunch of snacks without Sorah looking and when she did find out she just shrugged, scratching the top of his head. Having a little companion with you all the time was the best feeling ever for Sorah. She cuddled with him at night and when it got too hot Nyla would nuzzle her with his snout, a cool touch to her cheek.

"So, what's this about joining Hogwarts, then?" said Brook after a while.

"Mm?" Sorah hummed, looking up at the much taller boy. She swears ... every time she sees him he gets taller and taller. Hunter is now a head shorter than him, the top of his head just in line with his neck.

"You three are gonna move from Hybithia, right?" Cody stared at them with wide puppy eyes.

Levi and Sorah looked at each other. It was a big step. Through the course of the months since talking about it, they've sneaked into the Hogwarts library late at night to grab spell books for first years. With Nyla now with them, the cheeky Niffler had snuck into the Ravenclaw tower and had stolen Hunter and Brook's wands. The two did not need to know this, though. And the girls were quite good by themselves.

"It's likely," said Levi. "I mean, we don't necessarily want to stay at Hybithia. It's a good school, but here's better. Me and Sorah figured it'd be better for our well being as well ... oh, and Evan."

Evan smiled and Sorah saw that his fangs were half-way growing. Her's still had yet to make an appearance, as it was quite difficult to eat and the sensitivity of her gums made it hard to drink cold drinks.

"I mean, they aren't very nice to us," Evan said, mundane. "I tried making friends, and I'm not blaming you Levi, nor you Sorah, but they know I'm related to Levi, and because my sisters' friends with Sorah, they didn't get along with me."

Hunter growled. "What is so wrong with Sorah?"

"But why?" said Cody. "Why Sorah?"

"Because I'm a bit special." Sorah didn't understand what Hazel meant when referring to her as special, but she assumed it nothing to be ecstatic about. And others agreed with her. 

"She also said because you don't talk," Levi continued, frowning. "Which I don't see as a problem. Some people can't actually physically talk, what is she gonna say to them then? She could end up really offending the wrong person."

"She'll deserve it," shrugged Evan. "Once said to the wrong person, that's a smack in the face."

"Seriously, though," Brook said, as they all turned the corner towards the Ravenclaw tower. "How are you going to do it?"

"I'm vondering vhy ve are turning to Ra-Ravenclaw vhen we still got lessons," mused Hunter.

"For fucks sake," groaned Brook, face palming.

"Stop swearing," Hunter and Sorah synced.

"Come on, you two," Cody came to stand in between Hunter and Brook. "We gotta get to lessons—"

"You're a three years below us," said Brook.

"Mate, it's two years, and I'm saying we've got to get to classes because I do too, and I ain't going on my own," she said hastily. "We'll see you guys at dinner. Oh, and good luck on your transformation today!"

"Oh yeah, good luck!" grinned Brook.

Hunter came over, and careful not to knock the small, fluffy Niffler, hugged Sorah, squeezing tightly. "Good luck! I know you can do it!"

A surge of confidence boosted itself within Sorah, and she nodded, hugging him back tightly. " _Danké_ ," she thanked.

His warmth was soon afar and Evan, Levi and Sorah were left to part and be on their way to their lesson. Sorah kept on going over the transformation rules in her head as to not forget any. She had this fear of splinching, because if she did, the embarrassment and pain she'd have to go through. Humiliation will stick at her until the day she looses sights of her memories.

"What's the key?" said Evan, turning to Levi.

They were about halfway across the grass to their lesson. There awaits not only Professor Cadwell but also another Hybrid who Sorah's never seen before. Others from their class were already waiting there and her anxiety was almost at its peak.

"Relax," said Levi, a slight shake in her voice. Levi seemingly nervous put Sorah more on edge, because she normally always knew what she was doing. "The one thing that seems to trigger many Hybrids is nervousness. You gotta relax, o-otherwise you're screwed, basically."

"Crap," Evan said tightly.

When stepped in front of Professor Cadwell and a woman with circular, spotted ears and a spotted tail next to him, Sorah tensed again. Nyla nuzzled under her ear, but this time, it wasn't enough to calm her. What if her Hybrid _wasn't_ a wolf? What would happen?

"It may not be helping by putting yourself down," mumbled Nyla. "However, I may not be helping either. Nothing could calm someone like you down. Just don't think about that. Let it go."

Nyla then jumped down from her shoulder and pawed across the dry grass to sit by Professor Cadwell. He cringed a bit, but left him alone.

"I want you all to be quiet!" he barked, face blank with no emotion. "This is serious, so any funny business we'll have you out. The transformation can be dangerous, so if not done right, that's straight to St. Mungo's hospital. And I'm sure none of you want that."

Silence. Sorah could hear Levi's quick breathing. She wondered where Millie and her friends were. Millie kept on going on about how excited she was to became her known, white kitten.

"It has been many years since a fatal accident has taken place, and that was before we knew how to highly advance Hybrids. I wasn't even born, and neither was Ms. Cassidy."

Cassidy. Sorah now recognises her as the head of the Hybrility community, much like the Minister of England and Magic. But for whatever reason, she's not a Minister, and there is no such thing as a Minister for Hybrids. That is because despite their intelligence and immense power, they are not trustworthy and are considered a lower class than wizards and witches.

"Now, line up!"

The Hybrids quickly scattered and knew the drill as they had been taught. They had to line up in register order, meaning Levi would be right at the front and Sorah would be nearer the back. She was between a boy who's last name was Quinn and another boy who's last name was Smith. They didn't take much notice of her as they all spread out, at least half a meter apart. Since lining up all the fourth years was a bit much, some had to go in front so Sorah and the rest in line alike would be greeted with an animals ass.

"Are you all ready?" called Professor Cadwell, and Sorah looked to see Ms. Cassidy giving her fellow Hybrids small smiles of encouragement. She had a reputation of being kind and gentle towards many; that is why Sorah let herself relax a little.

"Yes!" Students chorused back.

"Ready..."

Sorah checked her bracelet and was happy to see it begin to glow. She flicked her wrist and it glowed more, sparkles flying around the edges.

"Set..."

Just like what Nyla said, block out everything. No one else is here ... it's just Sorah and her alone.

_No ones looking at you. No ones examining you. You're doing this all on your own._

"Transform!"

There were bright lights in her vision and she herself shut her eyes, already feeling a discomfort to her entire body. Almost everything burned and she almost lost her concentration when she remembered this was normal—this was normal first time. If this weren't to happen, then she'd have to go through an even more agonising time. She felt herself growing in different angles and stood on all fours. At one point she thinks she lost her breath but regained it again after a struggled gasp took its tool from her.

When she opened her eyes again, her vision was blurry—blurrier than it normally is. She was faced with others around her ... but they weren't any bit of human nor Hybrid. They were animals. She tried taking a step forwards but realised that she couldn't. Her two legs made her body shorter from not moving her two front ... legs. Dazed, she looked down to see two, pure white paws with black claws ... really fluffy. She gasped again, looking up to see others in awe at themselves and each other. They were all animals! They did it, without an ounce of fail!

The fangs in her mouth still weren't there form her normal Hybrid form. This was all so weird but amazing at the same time.

"Guys, shhh, I want you to all calm down," said an echoed voice. The voice belonged to Ms. Cassidy, still standing next to Professor Cadwell, who were both still in their Hybrid forms. Sorah tried lifting herself up high on her hind legs to see Nyla, but to no avail. "Listen, please, my Hybrids."

The excited chatter died down after seconds of her kind voice.

"Thank you ... I want to say a big congratulations to all of you. Now, I do not want to say much as the first time is always the hardest. You can probably hardly hear me right now, and your vision may not be perfect, but that is completely normal. We will allow you to stay on the castle grounds but away form any passing witch or wizard for obvious reasons. Only the teachers of Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons know about this. I assure you not many students know, because it's quite unnecessary. To get used to this, keep calm and let your natural animal instincts take over. Also, among you getting used to this and once you transform back, your Guardian will soon be by your side for the rest of your life. So don't be frightened if a sudden baby animal is next to you..." She trailed off, eyes landing on Sorah. She raised an eyebrow at her and Sorah tilted her head as if to ask if anything was wrong. At the silence, many others looked her way and their expressions moulded into variations of confusion, shock ... is that envy? "Since when do wolves bear wings?"

Sorah shifted and felt the unfamiliar feeling of extra bones at her back. Slowly, she experimented by moving them and she felt the wind shift. Wings that bore her back spread out like an eagles, the wingspan a good 6 metres of range. The feathers white and tips highlighted a light, sky blue puffed out like a newborns. 

_Where had these wings come from?_

"Class, do run along."

Many students were reluctant, curiosity getting the better of them. But with one glare from the Professor, they scuttled away.

This was all that was said before many started running off with their friends, laughing and having what seemed to be the time of their lives. Both adults turned to each-other, peaking at Sorah and whispering among themselves. 

"Sorah! You're a wolf! With wings!"

A small ginger horse with white splotches came bounding over, and Sorah was sure it was easily Levi. Her eyes, still a sky blue and light purple with an orange mane, and at the end, blue and pink tips. She was smaller than the average horse, but that's because she's still a teenager. She was easily bigger than Sorah, though.

"Holy crap, this is so cool!" Levi held her hooves out in front of her. "By the way, in the most heterosexual way, your wolf form is beautiful, especially with your wings."

So it is confirmed that Sorah is a wolf, and she smiled the best she could. "Danké. You're really cute, with your small white splotches aroun' you."

"Thanks," she nodded her head. "Where's Evan?"

"Just on the look out for a lion," said Sorah, looking around and moving forwards, still not quite used to the all fours she was on. "This is amazing ... I can't believe we're actually animals!" For some reason she felt a lot more confident from talking in her animal form than she did as a Hybrid. And ... the wings! She flapped them, giving her a light boost from the ground. This must be a dream! This _must!_

Suddenly, a small, black fluffy creature had hauled itself onto Sorah's body and onto her back. Nyla.

"Hello!" he said, but still, Levi had no way of understanding him.

"Guys!" They both looked to see a huge lion, bigger than Levi, who's mane still wasn't quite there, but noticeable enough to show it was a male lion. "We actually did it! And wow ... this is the first time in for so long where Levi is bigger than you, Sorah."

Sorah giggled.

"Hey, can you fly?" asked Levi, eyes suddenly wide. "Try and fly!"

"Lets go nearer somewhere away from everyone. It can be nerve-wracking." Evan made his lead and the two others followed.

The grass felt positively soft under her paws and she happily put a slight skip in her step. She also felt more happier than she'd ever been. Some sort of feeling of freedom filled the air around her, and tried running a bit. Once the twins with her saw their competition, they all started running ahead, almost as if they were trying to catch one another. At first Evan was in front, followed by Levi then Sorah. The wolf-Hybrid then felt a surge of speed course through her and then dashed right past Levi and Evan, hard on her paws and swiftly avoiding any holes or stumps coming her way. She then spotted an isolated area and as fast as she started, she stopped running, feeling the wind behind her catch up with her. Nyla was holding on as tight as he could, and breathed a sigh of relief when he was done.

"Imma keep it tame," he said, now getting off and Sorah giggled. "I'll see you in a bit. Don't think I can handle going that fast."

Sorah gave him a small lick to the head to which he gladly accepted before diving deep underground, off wherever.

Finally the twins caught up, a bit out of breath, still not used to their own strengths and stared at Sorah.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Levi, shaking slightly. "Do you know how fast you are?"

"I was sure I was gonna outrun the both of ya'," breathed Evan, sitting down and scratching behind his ear with his hind leg.

"I mean, you were fast at running before, but wow!" Levi laughed lightly. "Might as well call you Swiftpaw."

"Hey," said Evan. "That's a good idea, is it not? We should have names for one another." The two girls nodded. "Well, why not? Swiftpaw. Cool name, by the way, Levi."

Levi grinned, flipping her mane proudly. "Well, yes, I am quite good at these things," she said this in a mocking, posh manner and the two others laughed. "What about us two?"

Sorah stared at the two of them, and then looked at Evan, saying, "Fang."

Evan nodded, approvingly, "Yes, I suppose that can work. I like it." He then looked at Levi. "You could be Misty."

" _Yaass!_ " Levi said. "I like that name. Fang and Misty—it has a nice ring to it."

"Anyway," said Evan, "we came here to see Sorah fly. Can you do that?"

Sorah stood back from them and spread out her wings, testing them. She flapped them, and they created the usual impact of making things around it fly away. Then, without warning, she started beating at them and within a second she was off the ground. It was a bit of a struggle at first to control it as she was no longer up straight and had four legs to deal with, so she tipped a bit, making her loose balance and fall. A small thumb sound was heard when she hit the grass floor and the twins winced.

"I cans get it," mumbled Sorah as she stood again. "Just practise."

"That's the spirit!" beamed Levi.

With another attempt, Sorah beat at her wings and again lifted herself from the ground. This time she focused on angling herself, and made a formal balance between her two wings.

She guessed she is a natural born flyer.

Which is unusual since bird Hybrid's take a long time to start flying ... it almost felt familiar ... like déjà vu _._

"There you go!" said Levi. "Just move now, you can do it."

Sorah moved her paws as if she were walking on thin air and aimed upwards, the feeling a little peculiar.

It was a normal sunny day, quite warm, with only a few clouds in the sky, so she could quite easily fly within the clouds. And that's what she brought herself up to. Only a few moments later she was on the floor with two animals next to her, and now she was in the coolness of the sky, looking down. Then she had a brilliant idea, if she were to ask Professor Cadwell and Ms. Cassidy, she wondered if she could do a run up and fly around the school of Hogwarts.

With a quick motion, she was soaring down to the ground and softly landed. Before either twin could say anything, she spoke, "I gots a question to ask Professor. I vant to fly aroun' Hogwartss." 

Evan and Levi found this to be a good idea and sprinted towards their Headmaster and Head of Hybrility. They were happy to see that they were also now in their animal forms, Professor Cadwell a grey, arctic fox and Ms. Cassidy a small cheater.

"Can I help you?" said Ms. Cassidy.

"Sorah wants to know if she can fly around Hogwarts—" started Levi.

"Yeah sure." said Professor Cadwell with an amused expression. "Go wild—you're a wild animal after all, Stylan."

Well, that was unexpected. They didn't look that wary anymore with the wings upon Sorah's animal form. Instead, they seemed to of for now ignored it and have started to encourage it. They all looked at Ms. Cassidy for approval and the proud cheater nodded her head.

Sorah decided that here, and here alone would be a good run up. There were animals everywhere, but there seemed to be one straight runway. With her wings spread out, paws in running mode and tail up and curling to her back, she looked at Levi with a smirk. Levi seemed shocked still from their Headmaster agreeing so quickly, and shook her head, standing back with a smile. A deep breaths in, Sorah was bounding off again, her eyes trained on the far distance of Hogwarts castle. Animals of all kinds quickly ran out the way and chatter filled the air. An easy kick and she was off the ground, just over the cliff side and easily gliding towards Hogwarts castle.

Like she did minutes ago, she used her legs to look as if she were running in mid air and she then realised that her bracelet was still wrapped tightly around her wrist, or upper paw of her wolf form. She flew more upwards to get a certain pattern and rest her wings. It felt good to fly again, after a couple of months from her healing tail. But as she did this, she's never felt better and her wings felt strong and well looked after.

Turning towards the window, she easily swept past it without so much as a skid, startling some Hogwarts students. They all ran to the window but Sorah didn't get to see their amazed faces as she was already swiftly flying towards the next part of the castle. Her eyes then caught sight of the lake, attracting her towards the huge Durmstrang boat.

Abandoning the castle, she flew towards the lake and the whistle of the wind in her ears was enough for her to block out any other sounds around her. She almost forgot where she was for just a second. She let her right paw down and skim across the cool of the lake. She hoped to God that the squid that was apparently in there wouldn't swoop in and attack her. She highly doubted that would happen, though. She was slowly approaching the ship and quickly made a sharp turn, barely missing the edge and past a few Durmstrang students. Someone yelled something in Bulgarian, but she couldn't understand their language.

"Hey!" someone yelled.

She laughed and quickly escorted herself back the way she came from, away from the ship and away from the castle, coming towards land. She wasn't exactly pleased to see an audience watching her, but she tried her best to block them out an came down to a swift landing, running to finish it off and towards Levi.

"Well done, Stylan!" congratulated Professor Cadwell, grey paws tapping the grass beneath him. "That was incredible. I think it's time now to learn how to change back into our Hybrid forms though, don't you say?"

Disappointed groans filled the outside and the Headmaster chuckled.

"Come on, line up again, please!"

Students all around reluctantly went back to their original space and Sorah calmed her breathing, hating the attention that was just on her. Sometimes she wished people would give the attention-seekers what they needed and not the ones deliberately trying to hide their insecurities.

It was all a mass of a blur, and Sorah and the others were suddenly their normal Hybrid selves again. She felt drained, exhausted and a bit dizzy. They were the side effects, so it was completely normal.

"Take a break for the rest of the day," said Professor Cadwell's voice. "You'll need it. We'll be practising this a lot until you all perfect it." 

Nyla didn't come back that night and Sorah was left to a cold feeling beside her. She was worried, and hoped to start looking for him tomorrow. But other than that, she was proud to say she had become her very own Hybrid.


	21. ❀Powers of an Angel❀

The morning after felt like hell. Not only for Sorah but for the whole of fourth-years. Professor Cadwell had explained that it was fine, and it would ware off in a few days. A few days ... this was going to be hell. So during this time, Sorah made sure to exercise her tail to crack the joints in her Hybrid—wolf-ears. She also did some homework; Hypnosis was becoming a little bit of a task for her lately. She had almost perfect the hypnotising part but had to learn more about it to give her a pass at the least.

Despite the information Levi knew, she was struggling on the actual physical part. Sorah had offered to help her, but the ambitious girl had accepted no such help. Nyla was still missing, and this set Sorah to wake up early on a little journey to find him. Separation anxiety was really taking her by panic.

"He'll be fine," assured Levi when the younger had forced her friend to look with her. They were where they were yesterday for their transformation. This is where Nyla had dug a hole and disappeared off to. Surly he wouldn't be gone for long? He said he loved Sorah as much as she loved him. They were practically attached to each-other. So it made absolutely no sense as to why he was not back.

"He's only a baby," murmured Sorah, looking around, her glasses on for extra support.

"Maybe your friend Hagrid's seen him?" Levi stopped in her tracks at her own suggestion and looked at Sorah. She nodded and they both then turned towards the half-giants hut. Sorah gave a soft and small knock, hoping that was enough to be heard. Apparently it was because Hagrid then swung open the door, out of instinct looking down to see who it was.

"Ah, Sorah!" he beamed. "How are yeh? Who's yeh friend?"

Levi introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Levi." She did this with a little wave. 

"Good teh meet yeh, Levi." Hagrid stuck out his ginormous hand to shake with. Levi took it politely. "Wha' can I do fer yeh?"

"Have you seen Nyla?" asked Sorah, getting straight to the point.

"Nyla?" said Hagrid, clearly confused.

"My Niffler."

Hagrid's eyes squinted with confusion first thing but then they widened in acknowledgement. "Oh, right! I'm afraid I haven', Sorah. Why? Done a runner?"

"Not exactly," said Levi. "He told Sorah he'd be back, but he's not. We fear he's gotten lost, the poor thing."

Hagrid sighed. "I'm sorry teh disappoint yeh. But I'm sure he'll turn up. Cheeky little things, those Nifflers are!"

Both thanked the man and went on their way towards Hogwarts castle to get some breakfast.

"Let's just eat first and we can search again. After all, free day today." Levi's attempt to cheer Sorah up came to no use. Without Nyla, she couldn't help but worry for him. He's just a baby, and even though he sure doesn't act like one, he needs someone there with him.

The Great Hall was packed with students, unsettling Sorah completely. Levi managed to push her towards the Ravenclaw table where Hunter and Brook sat. Hunter frowned when he saw the gloominess settled in Sorah's eyes and features. She sat on his left side and he stopped eating.

"You alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Nyla's missin'," she said miserably.

"Oh damn." Brook butted in, his lanky form pushing at Levi's side. "That's funny, I swear I saw him with Cody on our way down to the hall."

Now alert, Sorah sat up straight and looked beyond the heads of many students. Having her glasses on were a life saver as she spotted Cody, and none other than Nyla the Niffler was sitting next to her, happily nibbling on some toast.

"Nyla!" Sorah called, ignoring some of the stares she received. Thankfully, the cheeky Niffler heard her and immediately abandoned his toast and destroying everyone's breakfasts'. People scowled at Nyla and he finally came at a rest stop to sit beside Sorah. "Vhat happened?" she asked quietly.

"Yesterday when I was underground, I ended up in a completely different spot," explained Nyla, crawling up Sorah's arm to her shoulder. "I didn't know where you were but then your friend, Cody, spotted me and took me in. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," said Sorah. She moved her arm and Nyla got the gesture, climbing down again so Sorah could cuddle him to her chest. "I vas just vorried."

"There you are!" Cody exclaimed from behind. "'Ope you don't mind, but I took your Niffler for the night. He seemed lost, so I took that advantage and 'stole him', quotation marks." She held up her hands and quotation-ed her speech.

Throughout the rest of breakfast Sorah made sure to keep a close eye on Nyla. The Niffler was busy cuddling up to Levi who appreciated the comfort. Today was the day they had to do something about the Hybithian and Hogwarts exchange. First of all they would have to talk to Professor Dumbledore. If he were to say yes, then it would be harder for Professor Cadwell to back down.

"Do you want me to come with you?" offered Brook as he led the two girls to Professor Dumbledore's office. Nyla was busy looking out on Sorah's shoulder, occasionally nuzzling behind her ears.

"It would be best not to," said Levi, "if you know what I mean. Me and Sorah want to do this on our own. But thank you."

"You're welcome," said Brook.

They continued on towards the staircase and Sorah saw that the staircase itself was smaller than expected. At the bottom had a stone gargoyle coloured gold.

"Now this is the tricky bit. I don't know Dumbledore's password to his office. So—"

He stopped talking when it started moving and when opened, Harry Potter stepped out, and froze as soon as he saw the three standing there.

"Er ... hi?" he said and Sorah's heart fluttered. Maybe she should focus on swapping school's before noticing her silly little crushes.

"Levi and Sorah are off to see Professor Dumbledore, Potter," said Brook, maybe a bit too politely. This was long the lines of sarcasm.

 _Did the two not get along?_ Sorah wondered.

"Awesome, Ashworth," Harry bit back. "The password is Cockroach cluster, if you must know ... don't ask..." he began walking away and at the password it started moving.

"Go on then." Brook pushed the two girls who nervously stepped onto the staircase.

It moved, so they didn't have to actually walk up. Sorah took on last look at Brook who smiled brightly, giving a thumbs up, before finding herself at the top. In front of them was a polished oak door with a brass door-knocker. Both girls looked at each-other before Levi rose her hand, grabbed hold of the knocker and knocked. When the door opened they both jumped back, startled.

"Come in," said the voice of Professor Dumbledore.

Taking a deep breath, Sorah walked in behind Levi, and looked around her in awe. Professor Dumbledore's office was circular lined with many pictures of people who seemed to be fast asleep. Books also scattered the room in a neat, alphabetical order, which let Sorah relax a bit.

"Ah, Amori and Stylan," greeted Professor Dumbledore with a soft smile. "How can I help you girls. Please, take a seat."

He didn't sit down himself, but Levi and Sorah saw the two seats at a desk and took that opportunity. Nyla wiggled down from Sorah's shoulder and made a small noise, looking up. Sorah looked his way and was greeted by the beautiful sight of a Phoenix, the size of a swan, with magnificent scarlet and gold plumage, it's long tail swishing behind him.

"That's Fawkes," said Dumbledore, coming up to stand behind the desk. "He's a bit like your Niffler, Stylan. Just a small friend to keep me company. Now, what can I do for you girls?"

Nyla made himself comfortable by stretching his body out on his desk whilst sneaking a few coins there. Sorah knew he'd put it back after, and Dumbledore must of thought this too because he didn't say anything.

Levi was the first to speak. "We've come about the school, Professor Dumbledore."

"Mm," he hummed in response, looking at them both with a gentle gaze.

"We're not h-happy with where we are," Levi said quietly, but Professor Dumbledore heard.

"I figured," he muttered. "I've seen the unfortunate things of what has gone on. I've heard from your Headmaster. Unfortunately, there is really nothing he can do about it, much like the same with me here. The one thing we can do is expel them, but unfortunately, those who are expelled early struggle dearly, and we can't let that happen to anyone."

Sorah finally decided to speak up. "Ve understand—"

"But we think we'd be happier here!" Levi interrupted, not purposely. "No one in your school has been remotely unwelcoming to us. Maybe a bit on the skeptical side, but other than that..." she trailed off, thinking of defeat.

"It's not a hard task," said Professor Dumbledore.

"To vhat?" asked Sorah quietly.

"To transfer schools," he finished. "We just need to sort this out with Cornelius Fudge and Hannah Cassidy. I'm sure they could sort something out. And by next year, you'll be boarding the Hogwarts Express instead of the Hybithian Express. That sounds promising."

Huge smiles crossed past Levi and Sorah's faces. Nyla seemed to be listening on in because he also smiled, dropping all the shiny things he had in his paws and pocket.

"Here." The Headmaster presented an old looking wand to Sorah. "Don't think I know what you and your Niffler have been up to. Any spells in mind?"

Trying to think, a light suddenly appeared within her mind and she pointed the wand at Nyla. " _Accio_ ," she said, clearly but quietly. A couple of coins landed themselves in Sorah's open palm.

Professor Dumbledore made a face of approval whilst Nyla keened at her, pouting. "That's impressive. How about you, Amori?"

Levi took the wand and she worried about what she should do as a simple spell and to not wreck everything within the beautiful layout of the Hogwarts Headmaster's office.

Then, with a wide smile, she said, " _Flagrate_ ," allowing flames to spark at the end of the wand and with ease, she wrote out her name, **_Levi_**   _ **Amori**_ with the fire.

Once her name was written, the fire ended at the wand and she flicked the wand through the flames, causing them to disappear.

"You two will do better than I will probably expect," said Professor Dumbledore as Levi handed the wand back. "And this isn't even your wand. We can make this happen, I'm sure of it. After the third and final task, we shall have an arrangement meeting with your Headmaster, Professor Cadwell and deputy, Professor Holden. There will also be myself and my deputy, Professor McGonagall. Anyone else wanting to join?"

"My brother, Evan," said Levi.

"That's fine," he said. "Now, off you go, you two."

 

* * *

 

“So how did it go?" Evan had questioned them once back in the Hybithian dorms.

All three were sitting on a small table, homework books scattered everywhere. Sorah was getting used to Evan hanging out with them, although it was a weird feeling as she and Levi couldn't really talk about the stuff they normally talk about. Nyla was nestling himself on an open book whilst playing with a couple of gold coins he stole from Dumbledore's office. He didn't mind one bit and let the Niffler get away with it.

"'Swell," said Levi, writing down a few notes. "He basically said along the lines of: ' _It's fine, you can move_ '. We just need to arrange a small meeting and sort things out. I have a feeling we're gonna be busy of the summer holiday's."

Evan sighed happily, resting back on the chair he was sitting on. "We're finally gonna stop getting tormented for whatever stupid reason. What house do you think we'll be sorted into?"

Levi put down her pen and thought for minute. "That's a really good question, and I have no idea. What do the houses represent?"

"Sorah?"

The she-Hybrid looked up at Evan who had said her name. She nodded at him for him to go on.

"You have a brother in Hogwarts," he said, "you must know something about the houses and their traits."

Sorah wrote down one last sentence before giving Evan and Levi her full attention. "Ravenclaw ... intelligence? Creativity? Gryffindor's are brave. Hufflepuff's are loyal and humble and Slytherin's are resourceful and ambitious."

"Gryffindor then!" Evan said, gesturing towards himself. "I bet you'll be a Ravenclaw, Levi. And you'll probably be a Hufflepuff.” He aimed this at Sorah.

"Meh, we may not know until the day," shrugged Levi, going back to her written work. Sorah did the same, not really in a talking mood.

"Sorah?" Cujo was then suddenly in between her and Evan. "Can I burrow you for a second?"

"She's not a tool, y'know?" Levi mumbled irritably, still not looking up from her paper.

"What?" said Cujo, raising an eyebrow at the smaller girl.

" _Nothing~!_ " sang Levi.

Sorah got up, obeying Cujo's commands, and followed him.

She wondered why Cujo needed her. There was no clue or hint in the Second Task that may of given the champions a clue on how to survive the third and final task. If the champions didn't know, then it was blatantly clear that the other, average students had no idea about it. So it must be for something else, because if it isn't, Sorah (to make sure) went through a list of things her and Cujo has ever done. And she does not think or remember for one second if she was ever rude or unreasonable with Cujo once. There was no need to be; he was a popular, but not a jerk. He was sweet and out-going. Something rare for a popular kid.

She let her hands glide across the waves of the water, wishing very well that Nyla or Levi was here.

She didn't have to worry about the possibilities of what Cujo was going to ask, because he finally said, "I need you to help me with a few tricks and stuff for the third and final task." And Cujo went onto explain about this maze they'd all have to go through, seeking out the Quadwizard Tournament cup. They'd have many things to battle, as they wouldn't give out something to seek that easily. Many may be dangerous, however, not dangerous enough to brutally injure anyone who comes by them. They just need to learn how to defend themselves. "Know any?"

"Um..." Sorah started, feeling rather awkward. "Y-you are eighth-year..."

"Yeah?" said Cujo, not seeming fazed by where the conversation was leading to.

"You should know how to defended yourself as such..." she finished, not really confident in the words she was saying. "Why are you always comin' to me?"

Something dangerous flicked across the red eyes of Cujo, and when Sorah flinched back, it disappeared.

“Sorah," he began, getting too close for Sorah's comfort. "You're predicted to be one of the most powerful Hybrids of all time. Don't you see that?"

"No..." Sorah said, not amused.

"Look at your wings!" he chided. "Well ... the wings you had when you were an animal. And yes, everyone's heard about that. How could we not? The news spread like wild fire! That's what you call an Angel! You have angel wings, what else do you see?" He didn't give Sorah time to speak when he let out another course of words. "It' been years, decades—almost a century since a Hybrid has had angel wings. Do you see anything in that?!"

Sorah shook her head, cringing at the volume of his voice. She took a few steps back—not out of fear, just to show him she felt a bit uncomfortable.

It wasn’t as if she was ill-knowledged of the fact of Angels. Even at the fact she had angel wings. But she didn’t want to create such a huge deal out of it. The easiest thing is to ignore it. 

"No..." Cujo cursed silently, running a hand through his messy, damp hair. "You have so much power, Stylan, you don't even know it yet! Your power with talking with animals, being able to learn magic so quickly ... it all adds up to the power of an Angel. As you get older, the more power and memories it takes hold of. What's the point in transferring to Hogwarts if all it's gonna teach you is useless wand magic?"

"How did you—" She stepped back, eyes wide.

"I know these things," said Cujo, red eyes flicking to Sorah again. "So please ... I need your help. We ... Hybithia ... we need to win this. We've won so many years in a row now ... what is it? four, five? And if I don't win this because of that stupid _Potter_ _boy_ ," he spat out his name as of it were a bad taste on his tongue, "then I'm done for. I'll be known as That Boy Who Lost against The Boy Who Lived."

Hearing Cujo so distasteful about Harry really unnerved her a bit. What did everyone have against Harry?

She probably wouldn't understand that much as of right now. So with a deep a shaky breath, she agreed to work with him, teaching him defence spells and hexes, hoping that any of these spells will help an eighth year for the third and final task.


	22. ❀The Third Task❀

"Come on, Stylan, you got to dodge them!" Cujo shouted, firing another hex at her, a green light just missing her arm. "You'd got yourself killed, and this isn't helping me! The things in there are gonna be more dangerous and dominant than this, you got to make the effort."

Sorah growled and let her bracelet tighten around her arm. She waved her hand around in a small circle and then threw a hex Cujo's way as if she were throwing a ball. Cujo easily deflected it and shot another one her way. This time it did hit her, and she was sent tumbling backwards, nearly into the lake.

"Let's take a break," said Cujo. He walked over to Sorah and offered a hand, picking her up. "I don't think you've quite got the idea of this."

Sorah didn't stay anything.

For about a week now they had been practising these instead of Sorah revising for her end of year exams. No one knew anything about this, and the two preferred to keep it that way. Not even Nyla knew where Sorah would disappear to during some hours of the day and at night. She was getting a couple of hours sleep every night and now knew what Levi felt.

"You gotta go stronger, yeah?" Cujo nudged her a bit. She flinched away, covering herself with her tail. The boy next to her sighed. "If you were to seriously hurt me, Stylan, I wouldn't of picked you. You're not so powerful yet, and even so, you're a naturally gentle and kind Hybrid anyway, so what's the use?"

Beneath her, Sorah picked at the dry grass, wishing it would rain so it wouldn't have to suffer for much longer. They have been at this strategy for longer than a couple of hours. Sorah never had bruised easily, mostly because of her tanned skin, but when she looked at her bare arms, loads of bruises littered them as well as her legs and possibly some on her tummy and sides. Many cuts and burns were viewable for everyone to see, and she'd have to try and cover them up with a glamour charm. Cujo was also covered in cuts and bruises, but not as much as Sorah. One spell that involved a knife managed to just miss his eye, and Cujo took that as a challenge, starting to fully pelt Sorah with blasts of heat.

The two of them sat there for another five minutes, both breathing heavily and shakily.

"Come on." Cujo slapped her on the back, causing her to wince. "More. Put your whole effort into it this time."

Sorah groggily got up and stumbled to her standing spot. Cujo was somewhere in the middle where she was. She felt nauseous and unwell.

"Stylan, concentrate." Cujo snapped his fingers.

Before she had anytime to react, a blue light was aimed her way and scratched the side of her right thigh. She clutched at it, glaring at its offender. Frustrated from this, she wound up her magic and thought of a random hex in mind before making sure it followed Cujo wherever he dodged it. He nearly managed it, but it hit him square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Guilt filled in Sorah as she watched him try and catch his breath.

Because of this trick, Cujo suddenly blasted the spell, " _Lotaviá!_ "

Sorah ducked in time, and turned over, throwing some shade across to him. This knocked him clear off his feet this time.

 _Is this enough for you, Brandaze?_  

She started slowly walking over to him, and without thinking, shot more fires and spells at him. As soon as she was looking over him, she stopped, her chest heaving. The older boy caught his breath and stared up at the girl.

"Is this enough for you, Brandaze?" she echoed her thoughts.

Cujo breathed out a laugh. " _Yes!_ This is more like it, Stylan!" She smiled and lost the insane thought by letting him go. He scrambled up to his feet, dusting himself off. "We make a great team, you and me."

Sorah couldn't help but silently agree. The two were powerful together. With the little amount of time they've really bonded; it's plain to see and know that when in trouble, they'd come to one another's aid. 

 

* * *

 

 The night before the Third Task, Sorah had gone out of her way to take a walk with Cujo before it was time for bed. She could almost feel his shake of nerves rattling from him. In every sentence he spoke was one step away from fearful.

"I'm sorry," he said shakily.

"Mmh?" Sorah looked up at him.

The lake shone, reflecting the nights stars, sparkling and twinkling, catching at Sorah's eyes. An amused thought passed by Sorah as she thought of Nyla. Him and his silly mind would love to crawl to that sparkle. In the moonlight Sorah could see Cujo's nicely defined face. His jawline was quite sharp and had a straight nose with thin lips. The cut that Sorah gave him the other week scarred his features for a possible long time, and an old, yellow bruise was covering around his eye. His red eyes were more of a light red, almost pink colour, but maybe that was the moonlight.

"I'm sorry for making you do a lot of my work," said Cujo, sounding really apologetic. "I guess I saw you as an easy target, and took literal advantage of that. I knew you'd help me, because you've always had a hard time saying no." He chuckled lightly. "But I never intended to upset you, Stylan. You're a good person." He turned to look at her.

She blushed at the small compliment and gave him a gentle smile. "You're a good person too."

Silence courses through them again, and she jumped when Cujo took her hand and pried it open. In her open palm he dropped an object there that was attached to a chain.

"There," he said, dropping her hand.

She kept it up, examining it. It was a small, clear bottle with a light purple, tiny stones in it. Inside there was a label that said Spirit in fancy letters. Outside of the bottle, attached to the light brown string, was a key. _Where did he get this?_

"I made it myself," he murmured as if he had heard Sorah's thoughts. Or maybe he did. "I figured this was a little gift for you ... for helping me. Honestly, without your help, Stylan, I wouldn't of made it through the tasks. Here, let me put it on you."

Sorah handed the necklace back and turned around, pulling her curly hair to the side and bending down a bit. She made sure to flatten wolf-ears and not shiver at the gentle touch Cujo showed her when putting the necklace on her. He easily clipped it on and when done, she turned back around, looking down at it. It rested there on her chest, the perfect place for display. When she looked back up at Cujo, he had a big smile on his face.

"I'm glad you like it," he told her.

"I didn't get you anythin'," she said.

Cujo waved her off, "Nah," he said. "Don't worry about it. I tell you what," he started to add, "if you keep in touch with me throughout our times, that'll be enough for me. I'm no longer gonna be a Hybithian student, and neither are you. I'm growing up to become an adult, whereas you're for sure exchanging to Hogwarts. Just keep in contact Stylan, for Hogwarts you need a pet anyway. Get an owl, my parents have got one ... God, I'm definitely not moving out yet."

Sorah laughed with him. She didn't even want to begin to imagine leaving home once she graduated. She wanted to stay with her parents for as long as she could.

Cujo sighed, uneasy and turned back to the lake. "Tomorrow is the big day."

"Cujo?" Sorah mumbled, blushing furiously.

"Yeah?"

"Don't matter if you don't win tomorrow," she said. "Vhat matters most es the effort. Even if you don't win, Hybrids vill still love you. It's about the heart, not strength in your vanity."

"Thanks, Sorah." Cujo didn't take his eyes off the lake. "People don't really appreciate the kindness of your nature. Alas ... it goes to waste."

 

* * *

 

Many post owls appeared the morning of the Third Task. Tables with students were buzzing of excited chatter, much like the first two tasks, but this time, a lot more enthusiastic. Sorah had received a news letter, The Daily Prophet, from Declan's owl, who's name was Rowan.

"Ha ha, have you read this yet?" laughed Brook, pointing to the headline of The Daily Prophet. Before Sorah could so much as glance, a voice, so soft to her ears, shouted across the Great Hall at someone.

"Hey, Potter! Potter! How's your head? You feeling all right? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?"

Draco Malfoy.

Sorah looked at his table to see the blonde holding a copy of The Daily Prophet too. Slytherin's up and down the table were sniggering, twisting in their seats to see Harry's reaction.

"I feel bad for Potter," mumbled Hunter, reading down the lines of The Daily Prophet.

Sorah turned back and began to read:

> _**HARRY** **POTTER** **'** **DISTURBED** **AND** **DANGEROUS** **'** _  
>  _******The** **boy** **who** **defeated** **He** **Who** **Must** **Not** **Be** **Named** **is** **unstable** **and** **possibly** **dangerous** **.** _

"It's from that same God-awful woman, Rita Skeeter," said Brook. "Man, that woman is such a cow."

If any cow Hybrids were around to hear that, he would have had the light thrashed out of him.

She continued to read, a frown making its way on her face:

>   _**Alarming** **evidence** **has** **recently** **come** **to** **light** **about** **Harry** **Potter** **'** **s** **strange** **behaviour** **,** **which** **casts** **doubts** **upon** **his** **suitability** **to** **compete** **in** **a** **demanding** **competition** **like** **the** **Quadwizard** **Tournament** **,** **or** **even** **to** **attend** **Hogwarts** **school** **.**_  
>  _**Potter** **,** **the** **Daily** **Prophet** **can** **exclusively** **reveal** **,** **regularly** **collapses** **at** **school** **,** **and** **is** **often** **heard** **to** **complain** **of** **pain** **in** **the** **scar** **on** **his** **forehead** **(** **relic** **of** **the** **curse** **with** **which** **You** **-** **Know** **-** **Who** **attempted** **to** **kill** **him** **).** **On** **Monday** **last** **,** **midway** **through** **Divination** **lesson** **,** **your** **Daily** **Prophet** **reported** **witnessed** **Potter** **storming** **from** **the** **class** **,** **claiming** **that** **his** **scar** **was** **hurting** **too** **badly** **to** **continue** **studying** **.**_  
>  _**It** **is** **possible** **,** **say** **top** **experts** **at** **St** **Mungo** **'** **s** **Hospital** **for** **Magical** **Maladies** **and** **Injuries** **,** **that** **Potter** **'** **s** **brain** **was** **affected** **by** **the** **attack** **inflicted** **upon** **him** **by** **You** **-** **Know** **-** **Who** **,** **and** **that** **his** **insistence** **that** **the** **scar** **is** **still** **hurting** **is** **an** **expression** **of** **his** **deep** **-** **seated** **confusion** **.**_  
>  _**"** **He** **might** **even** **be** **pretending** **,"** **said** **one** **specialist** **, "** **this** **could** **be** **a** **plea** **for** **attention** **."**_  
>  _**The** **Daily** **Prophet** **,** **however** **,** **has** **unearthed** **worrying** **facts** **about** **Harry** **Potter** **that** **Albus** **Dumbledore** **,** **Headmaster** **of** **Hogwarts** **,** **has** **carefully** **concealed** **from** **the** **wizarding** **public** **.**_  
>  _**"** **Potter** **can** **speak** **Parseltongue** **,"** **reveals** **Draco** **Malfoy** **,** **a** **Hogwarts** **fourth** **-** **year** **. "** **There** **were** **a** **lot** **of** **attacks** **on** **students** **a** **couple** **of** **years** **ago** **,** **and** **most** **people** **thought** **Potter** **was** **behind** **them** **after** **they** **saw** **him** **lose** **his** **temper** **at** **a** **Duelling** **Club** **and** **set** **a** **snake** **on** **another** **boy** **.** **It** **was** **all** **hushed** **up** **,** **though** **.** **But** **he** **'** **s** **made** **friends** **with** **werewolves** **and** **giants** **too** **.** **We** **think** **he** **'** **d** **do** **anything** **for** **a** **bit** **of** **power** **."**_

Sorah shook her head and looked up to see basically everyone else reading it. Even Nyla—a bloody Niffler—was reading curiously over her shoulder. The Hall seemed to pass by in a silent chatter whilst most reading the article.

> _**Parseltongue** **,** **the** **ability** **to** **converse** **with** **snakes** **,** **has** **long** **been** **considered** **a** **Dark** **Art** **.** **Indeed** **,** **the** **most** **famous** **Parcelmouth** **of** **our** **times** **in** **none** **other** **than** **You** **-** **Know** **-** **Who** **himself** **.** **A** **member** **of** **the** **Dark** **Force** **Defence** **League** **,** **who** **wished** **to** **remain** **unnamed** **,** **stated** **that** **he** **would** **regard** **any** **Wizard** **who** **could** **speak** **Parseltongue** **"** **as** **worthy** **of** **investigation** **.** **Personally** **,** **I** **would** **be** **highly** **suspicious** **of** **anybody** **who** **could** **conserve** **with** **snakes** **,** **as** **serpents** **are** **often** **used** **in** **the** **worst** **kinds** **of** **Dark** **Magic** **,** **and** **are** **historically** **associated** **with** **evil** **-** **doers** **."** **Similarly** **, "** **anyone** **who** **seeks** **out** **the** **company** **of** **such** **vicious** **creatures** **as** **werewolves** **and** **giants** **would** **appear** **to** **have** **a** **fondness** **for** **violence** **."**_  
>  _******Albums** **Dumbledore** **should** **surely** **consider** **whether** **a** **boy** **such** **as** **this** **should** **be** **allowed** **to** **compete** **in** **the** **Quadwizard** **Tournament** **.** **Some** **fear** **that** **Potter** **might** **resort** **to** **the** **Dark** **Arts** **in** **his** **desperation** **to** **win** **the** **Tournament** **,** **the** **third** **task** **of** **which** **takes** **place** **this** **evening** **.** _

"She's getting light," said Brook, slamming it down on the table. Nyla jumped and glared at the boy. "Is that the best she's got? She must be running out of ideas if she thinks Potter's an attention seeker. He's already an orphan, so he gets many sympathetic glances as it is."

 _Anything for a place in the Prophet_ , thought Sorah, rolling up the paper and neatly placing it beside her.

"We've got a lot of tests today, having we?" said Levi. "Hybology, Hypnosis, Potions and History."

Sorah groaned, putting her hands over her face. " _Nein_..."

Levi chuckled. "You have revised right?"

From all the help she gave Cujo, she hadn't had much time to revise. She was one of those people who had to revise to get a good mark. If not, then it was most likely she'd fail. Then again, she was also very laid back about exams and didn't really bother worrying all the time about them.

Sorah shook her head in response to Levi's question and the other sighed. "Honestly, Sorah, our Professor's did warn us—"

"You know who you remind me of?" said Brook.

"Who?"

"Granger." He pulled on Nyla's paw to tease him. The little Niffler tried giving him a bite, but he was too fast.

Levi blushed and hid her face. Sorah didn't know why she was embarrassed to be compared to someone like Hermione. She's a nice and intelligent Gryffindor.

The rest of the day went by like blur, Sorah had thanked. First test was Potions, which she knows she failed at. Hypnosis and Hybology she think she did alright whereas History ... God, she doesn't even want to know.

By that evening, her heart rate was almost out of control. She hoped that Cujo would be alright. He described the things in the maze to be dangerous and unforgiving. Unless he was being over dramatic, but she also couldn't help but look over at the Gryffindor table where Harry was eating ... well, kind of. He looked a bit pale and out of it. At one point even Sorah stopped eating, and stared off into space. There were more courses than usual tonight, and she stared up at the dark blue enchanted sky and watched as it turned from a blue to a dusky purple.

The task is soon...

Silence fell and still Sorah didn't stop staring off into space.

Dumbledore spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch pitch for the third and last task of the Quadwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

Applauds from the Gryffindor table sounded when Harry got up. Sorah still wasn't paying attention. It wasn't until Nyla started nuzzling her cheek and Levi was nudging her did she come back to her senses. She looked up sleepily at her friend whilst subconsciously taking Nyla and hugging him to her chest. He didn't protest.

"You alright, there?" she asked with a small chuckle. "Come on, we gotta get to the Quidditch pitch. I have no idea where Cujo is," she said this whilst Sorah got up, head dizzy. They started making their way out of the Great Hall like all the other students. "Oh wait, yeah, he's gone with the other champions."

Levi was now talking to someone else and Sorah let that be. She held Nyla on her arm to which he curled around and let himself be carried. The fluff on him made her feel more sleepy and wanting to climb into bed, have her blanket and fall asleep.

"Are you f-ff-feeling okay, sis?" Hunter was suddenly beside her, concern filling his eyes. "You ssseem out of it."

" _Ja_ ," said Sorah, nodding her head. "Just tired."

Hunter then held her spare hand and they all walked to the Quidditch pitch together, Cody and Evan not long behind them. They were talking about God knows what. Cody insisted that they come over to the Gryffindor side and sit next to Fred and George. Evan, Levi and Sorah gave an alright answer, meaning they'll be abandoning Hybithia and sitting with Hogwarts students. Which was completely fine since Sorah had learned that Draco was neither voting for Harry or Cedric Diggory, and he was voting for Viktor Krum. To Sorah it made sense since he had told her he was supposed to of gone to Durmstrang, however, his mother loved him too much to send her son that far away.

"Cody, over here!" said one of the Weasley twins. They all followed the voices and soon Sorah found herself sitting between Levi and Hunter, having a good view down below.

The air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Professor Cadwell, Professor Holden and Professor Abner came walking into the stadium with a bunch of other Hogwarts' teachers. Professor Cadwell went up to the champions and Ludo Badman with some of the Hogwarts' professor's. Professor Holden and Professor Abner went over to stand by the Hybithian seats.

"They're patrolling the outside of the maze," said Hunter to Sorah. "Vhat the-they also look out for is red sparks in the air to signal help or danger. One of them shall get them."

Sorah would have asked how Hunter knew all of that but didn't have the energy to. She watched as the champions all nodded at something the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts said and then walked in different directions, to station themselves around the maze. Ludo Bagman point his wand to his throats and muttered something before his magically magnified voice echoed across the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Quadwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how many points currently stand! Tied in first place, on eighth-five points each—Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts school!" The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. "In second, on eighty-three points—Mr. Cujo Brandaze, of Hybithia!"

A loud eruption of cheers came from the stand of Hybithia and even Sorah, Levi and Evan smiled and clapped to cheer on Cujo. The Hybrid caught Sorah's eye and he gave her thumbs up to show he was okay. She gave it back to him, smiling. She still had the necklace he made her around her neck, which she absolutely adored. Levi and Hunter had questioned it, and she just told them Cujo gave it to her as a gift for helping him. Levi stopped turning a cold shoulder on the older Hybrid and appreciated the effort he gave her.

"In third place, on eighty points—Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in fourth place—Miss. Fluer Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

Much like everyone else, the Beauxbaton students clapped but in a calm and gentle manner. Sorah clapped her politely, since she had nothing against Fluer Delacour. She's just never spoken to her. She saw Cody clap as well, since she would have gone to Beauxbatons Academy like her mother and respected the French.

"So ... on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three—two—one—"

He gave a short blast of his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forwards into the maze. As soon as they had entered, the large bushes covering them completely, engulfing them into the maze.

Sorah could almost scent the nerves coming from Cujo, and Professor Cadwell gave him one last pat to the back before standing back, standing by Professor Holden and Professor Abner calmly.

"Right, Cujo," Bagman said after a few moments and Sorah's nerves peaked a little bit more.

She sent a small prayer hoping he'd help with Hybrility Telepathy. He tenses and looked back up to Sorah, nervous smile. He got it.

"Three—two—one—"

Then the blast of his whistle sounded again, and the hedges opened with no Harry nor Cedric there. Cujo hurried in and once again the hedges closed.

"It's only a few years until we can do it, Hunter," said Brook teasingly and Hunter sucked in a breath.

"No vay," he said, shaking his head. "Better you th-than me."

"Viktor, three—two—one—"

Whistle blew, hedges opened and off Viktor Krum went.

When the last champion, Fluer, had entered, a small buzz of chatter filled the air.

"Have you spoken to Cadwell yet about the exchange?" Cody said after a moment of silence passed through the group. Fred and George were talking hurriedly to themselves.

"There's no saying whether or not it's happening," mumbled Evan.

"There's a likely chance!" Levi said, trying to lighten up the mood. "He must surely know. Dumbledore said something about it going to happen. There's a likely chance Professor Cadwell will help us get into Hogwarts."

"You'll have a lot to learn," said Hunter.

"Well..." Levi chuckled, red spots of a blush appearing on her cheeks. "About that—"

Nyla suddenly pounced up and seized Brook's wand from his jacket. He cursed the little bugger and Nyla dropped the wand in Sorah's hands.

"What are you—?" Brook began to question.

" _Lumos_ ," whispered Sorah and the end of the wand light shone a bright light, but not bright enough to draw any attention.

"What?" Cody's eyes widened. "How did you—?"

"Nyla," said Evan. The Niffler crawled onto his lap, resting his paws in front of him. He gave him a gentle stroke before further explaining. "Throughout the school year from when Sorah had gotten Nyla he's been sneaking your wands." He looked at Cody, Brook and Hunter. "We've been practising magic, just for a higher chance to join Hogwarts."

The three were afraid of the other three via them getting annoyed or even angry. That did not come though. Brook started laughing and took back his wand from Sorah, saying a quick, " _Nox_ ," and put it away.

"You little buggers," Brook said. "I'm not mad. You could have easily just asked us."

"We know," Levi shrugged. "But you guys use your wands during the day, so we might as well use them at night."

They spent some of their time chatting aimlessly when a red and white light fluttered behind their eyelids. Looking up to the source of the light, they found that red sparks have been shot up into the air. Some gaped, wondering what had happened and Sorah looked down to see one of the Hogwarts Professor's disappearing into the maze to quickly to retrieve the maybe fallen champion.

"Who do you think'll win?" said Cody.

"Diggory's really good," admitted Brook. "He may be a lousy Hufflepuff, but he's got it good. He's strong and a great fighter. Need I remind myself of that one time I tried to duel him..." he muttered the last part and Hunter giggled, patting the boy's arm.

"What happened?" asked Levi.

"Ha ha," Hunter laughed, face palming.

Brook rolled his eyes and began his story telling:

"We were in our second year at Hogwarts, and Diggory was in his fourth year. I don't really know, but I was wandering the hallways, practising a few small spells with my wand. I didn't realise Diggory was coming my way— _completely_ _innocent_ —sorting through his bag. But then we accidentally bumped into each-other and out of fright I yelled _Stupefy_ ... you can imagine it knocked him off his feet and he actually banged his head on the floor quite hard. 

"Thank God none of his friends were with him because that would have resulted into a full blown war. 

"Anyway, he finally got up and I remember feeling so scared because he used to be much taller than me. I had my growth spurt in fourth year, finally passing him ... but he was so tall then, and I kind of ... stepped back, fearful and sceptical of what an angry fifth year could do. He just kinda chuckled and said,  _'So, you wanna play at that game then, yeah?'_ And he just started firing spells at me. I fired back because I needed some way to defend myself, but one spell, Expelliarmus, disarmed me and he claimed my bloody wand. 

"Professor McGonagall was conveniently patrolling the corridors and pulled us both to detention. Diggory got it worse though because McGonagall had said,  _'You're in fifth-year, Mr. Diggory. You should know better.'_ And then she turned to me, _'As for you, Ashworth, don't be practising spells unless in class.'_ Diggory said something along the lines when leaving, _'Nice spells kid. You got it in you'._ But it was still scary! Now that I'm taller than him, I think he's a little intimidated by me."

They all laughed, shaking their heads.

"You're like a fricking giant!" exclaimed Cody. "How tall are you?"

"About 5'8," he said shrugging.

"Oh, about average then," said Levi. "Either that or we're just all flipping short."

Cody grumbled something under her breath and they all chuckled.

"Bless Cody," said Brook, ruffling the girl's hair and she slapped his hand away. "Really feisty, though."

Another shot of red sparks filled the air, and Sorah felt a jab of worry course through her. That's Cujo. Professor Cadwell also insisted on going in there as well and when he was about to, the Professor who went in there earlier now had an unconscious Viktor Krum at hand. The Durmstrang stands gasped, horrified by what they saw.

The Hybrids on the others stands all started talking in quiet murmurs. Sorah spotted Millie and her friends and they made eye contact.

Sorah gulped and made a small message towards her, _"You felt that too?"_

She nodded, messaging her back out of the way of others, _"Cujo's in danger. I think all of us felt it."_

Sorah turned back to Levi and the girl was string worriedly into the obis of the dark maze.

Only seconds later did another fly of red sparks into the air and tension within each and every student rose. This meant that there were only two champions left in the maze. Just as this thought passed Sorah, the hedges opened to reveal Professor Cadwell and Cujo, who was walking, but was clutching his arm and blood was trickling down from his head. This was not supposed to happen. What in the world was going on in that maze?

"Oh God," Levi put a hand over her mouth. "Is he okay?"

"Obviously not!" said Cody, and Brook smacked her across the head, sending her tumbling forwards. "Wha' was that for?"

"For being rude!" said Brook amused.

"I was only stating a fact!" she smacked him back. "You nearly knock mi fuckin' head off!"

Brook chuckled and relaxed back in his seat, waiting for the other champion to come out of the hedges.

Soon enough they did and found it was Fluer Delacour. So they all guessed only Cedric and Harry were still in the maze, seeking the final treasure.

"I'm not being mean to Potter, but I do hope Diggory wins," sighed Brook, running a hand through his perfectly neat hair.

"I want Potter to win," said Cody, her tone flat and bored.

"Of course she does," said Hunter, "she's a Gryffindor like him."

"Not entirely true," muttered Cody, looking down.

True to her word, Sorah also wanted Harry to win. She's only exchanged a few words with Cedric, so it wasn't as if she knew him. He sounded really nice and hard working, but she's friends with Harry.

It honestly felt like forever. There was no other red sparks flying into the air. There was no sign or any idea when Cedric and Harry would be getting back. Surely it must have ended by now? The hard feeling within Sorah told her that something bad—something very bad has happened. Cedric or Harry? She was not sure.

"I think somethin's wrong," she mumbled to Levi.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at her, eyebrows furrowed.

She then looked down at Nyla who was still resting in Evan's lap. She'd have to wake him up in a bit.

"Can't you feel thet?" she asked. "Somethin' has happened."

"Cedric or Harry?" Levi sat up straighter, looking over at the maze and oblivious students. She then tensed, now feeling the dread drowning her in deep. "Oh God..."

"Nyla," Sorah gave a quick whistle and Nyla was up, crawling over to Sorah. He then crawled up her arm and sat alert. "Warn Cadwell." She waved her hand a little and gave a note. Nyla nodded, taking the note with his snout and ran off, under the stools and across to the Hybithia Headmaster.

She faintly saw the outline of her Niffler after a little while and claw at Professor Cadwell's calf. He looked down and took the note, immediately with his head up looking for Sorah. They caught each-others eyes and she mouthed to him, " _Read it._ " He opened the small note and he then put a thumbs up to her, going over to Professor Dumbledore and saying something.

When Nyla was back in her lap, he told her that Professor Cadwell was letting the Hogwarts Headmaster know the concerns.

And then, it was only a couple of minutes before there was a flash, and two people slammed onto the grassy ground. At first there was an applause and Sorah shushed Brook who started questioning what was going on. He had fallen asleep obviously. Then there was a deafened scream, and shouts of people. Sorah felt a few people shuffling past her, and found it was the Weasley twins, Hermione and Ron. Cody followed them, so Sorah followed Cody, behind her Hunter and Levi.

There was another shout, "Cedric Diggory! Dead!"

"What?" Cody said, almost stopping frozen in her tracks. Sorah pushed her along because others from the back were.

_Cedric dead? He can't be..._

She then saw Professor Dumbledore haul Harry up to his feet, and he looked woozy and sick. There were tear tracks visible on his cheeks, but he wasn't saying anything. The crowed around them pushed at them, and jostled, wanting to get closer to see what has happened. There were more shouts ... and screams. Screams of people around them. Some were crying hysterically.

_He's dead! Look! Look at his lifeless body!_

Another push to her back.

"What's happened?"

"What's wrong with him?"

Cody pulled on Sorah's wrist to get out of the way of a man running past them. Sorah recognised him as Amos Diggory—that man who she remembered from the Quidditch World Cup.

"Diggory'a dead!"

_That's his son..._

Girls were screaming, sobbing hysterically still ... the scene before Sorah happened so slow ... almost as if it were in slow motion.

"That's my son!"

Sorah blinked the blurriness away and Nyla held on tightly to her shoulder, trying to hide himself as much as possible. She had her tail squeezing around her thigh, ears moving back against her head and tail in a death grip around her leg.

"That's my boy!"

"Cedric's dead!"

Harry wasn't around, and Sorah wondered where the other Professor that was here a minute ago was as well.

Levi then pulled Sorah along to the Hybithian stands and Hybrids around were silent, a solemn expression crossing their faces. Cujo was holding his arm, red eyes dull and sad.

A lump formed in Sorah's throat, but she held back the tears threatening to escape. Seeing a father's face at the sight of his own dead child was one of the most heart-wrenching things that Sorah has ever seen.


	23. ❀The Beginning❀

Sorah reflected back on the month after the Tournament. When back in the Hybithian dorms, everyone was unnervingly quiet. Cujo was sent to the Hospital Wing, with an emotionally distraught expression, tears visible within his eyes.

It was a couple of days after that he returned, and no one dared to ask him anything. He seemed numb, though he still talked and appeared to be himself again, when talking about what happened in ear-shot, he'd completely shut down, and no one really knew why. It affected his magic a great deal, and it was found that something had attacked him, resulting in breaking his arm and collar bone as well as his magic faulting. So now he struggled with any little thing.

Sorah had come up to him one time to help him, and surprisingly, he accepted it. She got him back into the easy and old spells you normally start learning as a newborn. Unfortunately, whatever must have happened, really damaged his magic ability and normal boisterous attitude, because he was never motivated or happy enough to even practise those spells. Eventually, he stopped talking to Sorah about magic.

The morning after the Tournament, they had gone to breakfast in the Great Hall as normal, but this time, Professor Dumbledore had stood up, speaking to everyone who came to an erupt stop to their food. They listened in complete silence, respecting that they were told to leave Harry alone; to not question or talk to him about what has past.

A few days after that, and just a week before the school term ended, Professor Cadwell pulled Evan, Levi and Sorah to the side.

"I know you want to leave," he had said, then all of them were sitting down at his desk.

Sorah then felt bad, because it wasn't as if it were him driving them out of Hybithia. It was just the people, and Sorah knew that if she did not leave Hybithia, she wouldn't be that happy. Neither would Evan and Levi. They got bullied for no good reason, and they need friend's who'll be there for them, much like Cody, Hunter and Brook had been. It was sure that they'll make a lot more friends if they properly joined Hogwarts.

"It's decided," he continued. "You'll be packing your suitcases soon and will not be returning to Hybithia ever again. Your next journey will be to Hogwarts," he said this with a gentle smile. "I'm proud of you three. You've put up with all of this abuse for so long, and I'm terribly sorry I could not do anything about it ... I really am."

And at that moment, Sorah didn't see Professor Cadwell as just her teacher ... she saw him as a normal man who also had his struggles to deal with. Sorah wondered whether he ever got picked on when he was younger. It's true to word that Hybrids are treated differently, so this last year, it is possible that the Hybrid teaches have been getting the crap for it as well as the students.

"It's not your fault," Sorah spoke up, surprising all of them in the room. "But thank you, Professor."

"Yes," said Evan, "thank you. You're a really good teacher."

Levi also thanked him, and that was the end of that. They were no longer a Hybithian student, and until they join Hogwarts after the summer holiday's, they will be officially Hogwarts students.

The three left their washed and well kept uniform to Professor Holden, who also gave them a warm smile.

Even though they will still be going home on the Hybithian express, it will be the last time they will be in any interaction with their fellow Hybrids.

Since the Tournament, all classes in Hybithia were cancelled since all exams were over. It was official that the fourth years were now trained and ready for any transformations. It is forbidden to transform outside of school until the age of sixteen.

Then Millie eventually found out.

"What do you mean you're going?" she demanded, clearly upset. "W-what about next year? We've got our final F.I.O.H.s to do! You-you two can hang out with us, with my friends. Levi, Sorah—we didn't mean to leave you out—"

"Millie!" Levi's voice was stern and quite annoyed. The girl shut her mouth, sadness watering behind her grey eyes. "It's done, we've made our decision ... for once, we want to do what's right for us ... and we were never happy in Hybithia than we are now in Hogwarts. We'll still be together, though. Over the holidays? We can hang?"

Millie sighed, sniffing but than laughed lightly, all chocked up. "Yeah, I'd like that." She came in for a hug and all three embraced each other tightly. When they pulled away, Millie wiped the sleeve of her uniform across her nose. "Keep in touch. And, I really do hope you'll be okay. I'm sorry for not being there for you."

Levi laughed, squeezing her in another tight hug. "You were always there for us. Just it was a little different this time. Remember, we weren't the only ones to be a victim of Hazel's stupid excuses."

"Cadvell's now on the look out," said Sorah softly. "He's gon' make sure you don't get bullied."

"Thank you, Sorah." Millie brought her in for a big hug as well.

To sort out this house thing out, Evan, Levi and Sorah were told to visit Professor Dumbledore in his office. Cody, Hunter and Brook also came along to see what house they'd get into.

"Levi's gotta be Ravenclaw for sure," Cody kept on saying. "Have you seen her work? You're a frickin' genius!"

Levi laughed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't mind what house I'm in, to be honest. Didn't you say Dakota's in Hufflepuff?"

Cody nodded. "Yes, but would you really wanna be a lousy Hufflepuff? He's sweet and all, but they are a bit on the, uh, dumb side. Oh, and a Slytherin? Who wants to be a slimy Slytherin? Plus, that was the house You-Know-Who was in!"

Everyone tensed a bit.

Of course after the events of what happened, they had heard that Harry brought back Cedric Diggory's body from a battle with Lord Voldemort himself and that Voldemort had killed Cedric. At first Sorah was a little sceptical about him seeing You-Know-Who. Sorah had heard he died years ago, after the killing curse on Harry Potter backfired. But then why would Harry lie? Sorah didn't know. In a way, she just didn't want to believe Harry because Lord Voldemort ... he was possibly the most dangerous and evil wizard to walk the earth.

Most people were skirting Harry in the corridors, avoiding his eyes. Even Sorah looked away when they walked past each other and she scented the sense of disappointment when she did. Some whispered behind their hands when the boy past them. Many of them seemed to believe the Daily Prophet now, thinking he was a bit mentally disturbed and dangerous as Rita Skeeter had put in the Daily Prophet.

Sorah and her friends haven't talked about it much. They'd rather keep their thoughts to themselves.

They arrived at the Gargoyle and once said password, it moved, them all quickly hopping onto it. 

Brook knocked at the wooden oak door, and a faint voice said, "Come in."

"Ah, there you are!" said Professor Dumbledore with a tight smile. The Tournament had left him a bit tense and rather busy lately, Sorah noted. With him was a lady with a long, black pointed hat and stern expression. "Didn't know we were bringing a small party with us."

Hunter gave a dimpled, toothy smile.

Professor Dumbledore closed the door with just the flick of hand, meaning wandless magic. He then stood tall, taller than he already was, and held in front of him an old, battered looking hat. Cody, Hunter and Brook took their own seats, watching curiously and excitedly. It was the most happiest atmosphere it's been since before the third task. He gave the old, tattered hat to the stern lady, who Sorah knew as the Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, and she began to speak.

"This, Amori and Stylan, is the Sorting Hat," Professor McGonagall explained. "He sorts you into the house you're destined to be in. So, Mr. Amori, would you like to step up?"

Levi and Sorah stood back, allowing Evan to go forwards and sit down on a small stool. The stool was so obviously meant for newborns, or as they're called in Hogwarts, first-years.

The hat seemed to be speaking to Evan once it was placed on his head. Levi and Sorah looked at each other with raised eyebrows and looked at the other three who were calmly watching.

Then, the hat said clearly, but not loudly, "Ravenclaw!"

"Whoa!" said Brook with a huge smile on his face. "We got another Ravenclaw."

Professor McGonagall smiled and took the hat off of his dark curls. Evan got up off the stool with a smile and sat beside Brook, high-fiving him. Levi was to go up next, and when she sat down Sorah ran through her thoughts.

What house would she be in? This made her feel rather nauseous. What if she was in a completely different house to Levi? She wouldn't be able to stand that ... what if they wouldn't except her and she'd have to go back to Hybithia!

"Hufflepuff!" the hat said delightfully and Levi shrugged with a small smile. When Sorah looked over at the others, all but Hunter had frowns on their faces.

As Levi got off the stool, Cody started, "W-what? Are you sure the 'at 'asn't made a mistake?"

"She's right, Professor," Brook started protesting. "Levi's a _genius_! Why wouldn't she be in Ravenclaw?"

Professor McGonagall shook her head and rolled her eyes. "It doesn't really matter, now, does it Mr. Ashworth and Ms. Blueze? There are a few Hufflepuff's I know of whom have fantastic O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s results. May I add it's not always about the intelligence—Hufflepuff's are very hard workers."

Brook and Cody kept quiet.

"Doesn't surprise me," Hunter shrugged and Brook glared at the smaller boy. "Vhat?"

"Would you, Ms. Stylan?" Professor McGonagall gestured to the stool. A sudden rush of panic courses through her and Hunter was about to get up at the sight of her frozen on the spot when she calmed down again and started walking to the stool. She sat down and the Professor placed the hat on top of her head.

"Mm, well then, another Stylan!" the hat suddenly said and Sorah realised it was inside of her mind it was happening. "I had no idea Stylan had a sister. No worries! Let's figure out where to put you, eh?"

Sorah made sure she avoided all eye contact with the other and squeezed both of her eyes tightly shut. Her hands gripped the stool, turning her fingers a nice shade of white.

"You're a bit like the other one," the hat thought. "You'd make a brilliant Ravenclaw ... but above all, you're a hard worker and are incredibly humble and loyal ... So I believe ... Hufflepuff!"

She hadn't realised she had shut her eyes until Levi shouted out a, " _Yes!_ " and she reopened them, smiling in relief. Professor McGobagall took off the hat and Sorah stood up, going up to Levi and stuck her tongue out from between her teeth in an excited smile.

"Over the course of summer we shall send you three your uniforms and a list of things you'll need for Hogwarts," said Professor Dumbledore, taking back the hat and placing it back on the shelf. "Your parents already know, and what else can we say?" His smile had more of spark to it this time.

"We look forward to seeing you all next year," said Professor McGonagall.

On the night before leaving, Sorah and Levi made sure to get rid of the books of Hybithia and other instruments they had needed for Hybithia and take them downstairs to Professor Holden. She may not be their teacher anymore, but once your teacher, always your respected elder. It was almost with a heavy heart she did this, and the look Professor Holden gave her was saddening.

"You'll do great," she told Levi and Sorah. "I'm sure we'll see one-another soon. It's a big world out there."

"Thank you, Professor," Levi and Sorah synced.

After that, Sorah made a short trip down towards the Beauxbaton's carriages and said a long goodbye to Cola and his pegasi. It was unlikely they would see one-another again.

Soon, all Hybrids were waiting for the signal to go to the Hogwarts Great Hall for the Leaving Feast. She looked over to see Cujo there, chatting quietly to his friends. The necklace she still wore was around her neck, and she gently held it, smiling. She sure hoped they would still keep in touch.

When the Hybrids entered the Hall, not a lot of students were there yet, as the Beauxbatons weren't. They saw that behind the teachers tables there were black drapes on the wall as a mark of respect for Cedric. She also noticed that although all of the Durmstrang students were here, she did not see their Headmaster, Karkaroff. She wondered where he was but didn't have time to say anything as she was quietly called over to the Ravenclaw table where Hunter and Brook were sitting. She saw on the Gryffindor table Cody was talking quietly to a girl with red hair and brown eyes.

She sat there, next to Hunter and on her left Levi as she thought of Nyla who was currently with Evan. The Niffler had a little soft spot for the curly-haired boy, much like he enjoyed Cody's company, but seemed to really like Evan. Sorah wasn't jealous at all; in fact, she sat there with a smile as Evan gently stroked his black fur and he had a content look on his cute little face. She looked back up at the table again, as more students started to arrive in a quiet talk.

Madam Maxine was still there. She was sitting next to Hagrid. They were talking quietly together. Further along the table she spotted Professor Cadwell. He and Professor McGonagall were talking with each other. Her thoughts started drift. She sat there, not wanting to think about a single thing. The plate and forks in front of her were already neatly laid, and she was sitting on the left of someone. Nothing was out of the ordinary, so she had nothing to do to distract herself apart from wait.

That's when Professor Dumbledore stood up at the staff table. The Great Hall, much less it being quiet than in any other normal circumstance, became very quiet.

"The end," he said, looking around the students, "of another year."

He paused, and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Theirs had been the most subdued table before he had got to his face, and theirs were still the saddest and palest faces in the Hall.

"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Professor Dumbledore, "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here" —he gestured towards the Hufflepuffs— "enjoying our Feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

They did it, all of them; the benches scraped as everyone in the Hall stood, and raised their goblets, and echoed, in one loud, low, rumbling voice, "Cedric Diggory."

Sorah swallowed as she sat back down, taking a deep breath whilst tapping her finger down between her Hunter silently.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities which distinguish Hufflepuff house," Dumbledore continued. "He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about."

Sorah knew exactly what he was about to say and raised her head fully now to look at the Headmaster. Not everyone knew about this, Sorah just found out from Cody who eavesdropped on Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

As Sorah expected, a panicked whisper crossed the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief, in horror. He looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence.

"The Ministry of Magic," he began, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so—either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Stunned and frightened, every face in the Hall was now turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death," Dumbledore went on. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."

Few heads turned in Harry's direction, before turning back to Dumbledore for further information.

"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. "He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honour him."

At this, benches scraped against the floor again as students stood up. From where Sorah was, she saw that most of the Slytherins on their table had not moved nor raised their goblets. A murmur of Harry's name crossed the Hall much like Cedric's and everyone sat down again. When everyone was seated, Dumbledore continued on.

"The Quadwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened—of Lord Voldemort's return—such ties are more important than ever before."

Dumbledore looked from Madam Maxine and Hagrid, to Fluer Delacour and her fellow Beauzbaton students, to Professor Cadwell and to the Hybrids littering the Gryffindor table at Cujo and then to Durmstrang on Slytherin table and at Viktor Krum.

"Every guest in this Hall," said Dumbledore, and his eyes lingered upon the Durmstrang students, "will be welcomed back here, at any time, should they to come. I say to you all, once again - in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.

"Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. 

"It is my belief—and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken—that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you, in this Hall, have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst. 

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brace, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

Case now packed, Sorah went the Hogwarts ground one last time before her next visit here to say a goodbye to everyone. Nyla was on her shoulder, wanting to a goodbye to Hagrid who had looked after him and his brother's and sisters for a very long time. Outside was a beautiful summers day, flowers blooming around the Hogwarts grounds and a fresh smell in the air.

"What's it like back at home?"

Sorah's heart warmed at the mention of Nyla already calling the Spencer's house hold home.

"It's a secluded area," she explained, her wolf-ears erect with the summer breeze. "Surrounded by forest. It's very calm and peaceful. You'll love it!"

Nyla smiled. "Your English is getting really good. We can practise your W's in the summer."

"Sure," she giggled.

Up the stone steps towards the Entrance Hall, Fluer Delacour had just ran past her, silvery hair shining against the summers sun.

She had just spotted Hunter was was talking to a Beauxbatons student when she was pulled aside.

 

"You alright, Stylan?"

She allowed herself to be swept aside into the depths of a hallway by Draco Malfoy.

Sorah looked up, smiling slightly. "How are _you_ , Malfoy?"

"Swimmingly."

_You're a liar._

Sorah decided the point in this wall was not to break it.

This boy that stood in front of her was not doing 'swimmingly' at all. Sorah respected his privacy and didn't consider for a second to try letting his own oppressing thoughts bully her own mind. If Malfoy really did want to join the Angels, then Sorah will let him come forwards in his own time. 

"I'm gonna be a Hogwarts students next year," she said quietly, "so it'll all be okay."

Draco covered a wince. "I don't need that sort of sympathy, Stylan."

Without a thought, Sorah reached forwards and took his hand. They were slightly bigger than hers—small, and delicate. 

"I'm not giving you sympathy."

She reached up, playing on her tip-toes and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. When she left him, she saw the faintest blush cover his face before he disappeared behind the walls.

She reached Hunter, who had dismissed talking to the Beauxbatons student, and he was blushing hard.

"Vhat?" she mumbled when she caught up to him.

He started laughing. "Girl really liked me."

"Oh," smiled Sorah. Then, she wiggled her eyebrows and he told her to shut up, shoving her lightly. 

"I'll see you tonight, then," said Hunter.

" _Ja_ ," said Sorah, smiling.

"Come on, Sorah, we gotta go!" yelled Lillian and Hunter and Sorah let go of each other. The dove-Hybrid was smiling brightly, waving her over. "Hybithia are leaving for home and we don't wanna leave you behind."

With one last goodbye, Sorah set off, but not before making sure Hunter got the message to Brook saying goodbye and to have a nice summer, even though it was most likely they'd see each-other.

Sorah and Levi managed to get a compartment to themselves on the coach. It had changed slightly from when they had travelled to Hogwarts. Because they'd be dropping back at the train station where the coaches park, it was made more comfortable for a calm journey. Levi didn't feel the need to take any of those Muggle pills and gladly read for most of the journey. Evan had wanted some time in his own, and decided to go near the front of the coach to sleep some time off.

Sorah was staring out the window, watching the world go by. Trees that were lushes and green in the hot sun, going by in a mass blur.

She looked over her shoulder to see the rest of the seat had her buddy Niffler, curled up and asleep surrounded by a few gold coins and her necklace Cujo had given her.

Levi, opposite them, was falling asleep herself and Sorah sometimes wondered how she got so lucky. In a weird way she had to thank Hazel mentally for bringing her and Levi closer together than ever.

Before long, and when evening pooled the blue skies, the coach came to a stop and one by one the students came off, already with their Hybrid sources hidden away from peering Muggles. Sorah had tied the bandanna around her head, made sure her tail stayed above the length of her skater skirt. Nyla, she had carrying in her rucksack, with a little bit of zip undone to give him space to breath.

"I'll see you soon," said Levi, giving Sorah a hug. "I gotta go and find my mum and dad. Evan's probably already with them. But, keep in touch. We've gotta go to Diagon Ally together to get our wands and stuff. Don't get yourself and Nyla into too much trouble."

It was only moments later before Sorah spotted Declan, and she ran up to him, hugging him tightly. He was surprised by the sudden tackle, and easily hugged her back gently. Waiting in the car was Becca, who got out and hugged her, and Hunter with a dimpled smile.

This wasn't the end of a year. This was just the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally finished! god, i feel so free! 
> 
> fully completed: 23.07.2018
> 
> next book: defunct.


End file.
